Unwilling Partners
by Az The Dragon
Summary: Set after Stream and AU from there. no Beast. Hikari Netto went through a lot as a Net Saver. He battled WWW, saved the world, made friends with Enzan and saved the world. Again. But this? This is something that he would have never imagined to happen.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Well, I really had to get this out of my head or I would be unable to sleep at night. Actually, I was unable to sleep all night since I've written this piece till now (5.30 am. Yay me!).

I'm actually on a Rockman rush thing and I am really sad that my favorite character (up to par with Rockman himself) doesn't have more time in the anime (still have to watch Stream). Anyway, for the fic… forgive me for any errors you might find. This piece wasn't betaed and it was a spur of the moment thing. Yes, the idea was running loose in my head for days, but I didn't had anything in mind beside… well… read and find out. I just hope I had them in character. I'm pretty much new at this…

Also, I _might_ continue this, but it can be considered as a one-shot thing. So, uhmmm… keep an eye on it? I also might change the title if I continue this.

**BTW:** Not important, but if you are still reading the disclaimers I have written here, this fic is placed sometimes after Stream or even Beast (Beast+). Up to you, really.

**Also,** I don't own Rockman and/or any other related characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here… no, wait. I would, only with much more money…

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Unwilling Partners

_A fanfiction_

_By Az The Dragon_

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_You despicable, little, insignificant and filthy human!_

Netto rubbed his temples and groaned as he tried to ignore the angry voice and at the same time tried to recall how things had gone and why. So far, all he could remember was a blinding light and a pain that could be easily described with the simple words of "being torn in pieces".

_I swear that I will destroy you in the most painful way so that you'd wish you were never born in this accursed world!_

And the searing headache that followed after he woke up – mostly thanks to the yelling voice that he was trying to ignore – wasn't helping at all. Now he was sitting against a tree, looking up at the sky and trying to come up with the strength necessary to get up and go back home, or at least find a way to talk with his father at SciLabs and just ask for help.

_Stop ignoring me, you filth!_

The screaming that reached his already pained brain made him wince and bring his hands to his head. Out of all the NetNavis in the world, he had to be stuck with _him_. Not that he had anything personal against him, but coexistence right now was impossible because of his loud and angry voice.

"Forte, if you don't just shut up I will have a permanent brain damage, drop here dead and you'll be stuck out here with me for eternity."

The voice paused for a fraction of a second as the navi actually thought about the dreaded possibility. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere for who knows how much time and without a reliable access to the net – and freedom – was something that Forte couldn't afford to have happening.

_Fine, human. But you better get up and undo this…_ Forte paused again, and Netto had the strong feeling that the navi's face morphed from anger to utter disgust _…whatever it is!_

Thankful that Forte had actually listened to him after hours of unsuccessful negotiations, Netto rubbed at his forehead again and took a deep breath to relax his aching muscles. "Do you really think I enjoy this whole situation?" he asked in a tired voice. "To think that I ended up in a Cross Fusion with you, a navi that I have zero compatibility with… no, scratch that. We are completely opposite… with a zero we'd still be too close to each other…"

Trailing off and closing his eyes, Netto tried again to recall what had happened. Now that Forte had stopped his tirade of insults he had an easier time thinking, but memories were still sketchy at best and all he could recall was… a dimensional area?

Feeling something extremely wrong with the whole bad situation, Netto snapped his eyes open, gaining a new level of a headache in the process, and looked up at the sky. It was a cloudless night, with no moon and hundred, maybe even thousands of stars winking down at him, but no psychedelic colors belonging to the Dimensional Area.

"Ah hell… this is… so _wrong_…"

Worried about his own safety and well being, Forte stopped brooding to himself and turned his attention back to the current bane of his existence. _What? I swear that if you did something wrong with _my_ body I'm going to tear you apart limb from limb!_

Netto sighed again. Even if the black navi currently residing in his head wasn't yelling, the continuous threats were starting to get tiring. And as much as he wanted to counterattack the verbal assault with his own, he knew that if that happened, both of them would go nowhere any time soon.

"The sky…" the boy explained before Forte could go into another anger-induced rant. "There is no Dimensional Area. Cross Fusion shouldn't work without a Dimensional Area."

Strangely enough, Netto couldn't bring himself to panic over it. His sore body and headache were already enough to handle. Or perhaps he was just too tired to even care about this new detail.

That, however, couldn't be said for Forte, who took the news in the worst way and resumed ranting loudly right in his brain. Not that Netto cared about it since he instantly tuned the black navi's voice out and focused his attention to the world outside, entering into some sort of trance.

* * *

…_Hey, human!..._

Blinking lazily, Netto stirred and groaned faintly. The way he was sitting against the tree, although the most comfortable he had found, had been unkind to his already sore body.

_Damn it, human! Stop ignoring me!_

For some reason, he pictured Forte stomping his imaginary foot on an imaginary floor in frustration and anger. It was a picture that brought an amused, weak smile to him, but it still didn't help in bringing back the life to his stiff limbs.

_You accursed human! Stop zoning out and get your ass somewhere else! I don't want you to freeze to death and leave me stuck here!_

At those words, Netto frowned. "How long have I been out..?"

Muttering something about "weak humans" and "bane of my existence", Forte accessed his internal clock program and did a quick calculation. _Roughly four hours and half, you cretin._

"You know, Forte. It'd be easier for us to communicate if you'd stop with all those insults…" the boy shifted his right arm and lost his balance, flopping unceremoniously on the ground in a heap. "I bet you wouldn't like it if I started to insult you, right? At least you could try to be civil for as long as _you_ are stuck in _my_ brain…"

He felt Forte seething somewhere in his brain, but otherwise the black navi remained silent. Thankful that none of the two could read each other's thoughts, Netto did a small victory dance in his mind and proceeded to haul his uncooperative body off the damp earth and back into a sitting position.

"Any idea on where I should go?"

Tiredly looking around at the dark surroundings, he noticed for the first time that he had landed into a pinewood. To his left there was the crater he had originally crawled out of when he had regained consciousness while to his right the earth dipped downwards in a steady slope. In front and behind him there was nothing worth mentioning.

_Look, don't take this as an act of kindness towards you, human, but if you go downhill you are bound to find something._

Relieved to have Forte to at least be civil, Netto forced his body to stand up and staggered to the incline. Despite having sharper eyesight thanks to the Cross Fusion, the darkness of the night swallowed everything that was past the forty-or-so feet mark. And all he could hear was the rustling of the branches overhead.

Seeing the kid pause, Forte grunted and mentally crossed his arms. _So, are you moving?_

Netto nodded, knowing that the navi would feel his movements, and took a careful step downwards. "Yeah, yeah…" he muttered as he gracefully slid down a few feet and stopped against a tree. "I was just trying to see which way was best. You know… to avoid crashing on an unseen tree or trip on a rock and end up rolling all the way down. You wouldn't like that… especially the nauseous part."

Not having anything else to share with Netto, Forte grunted one last time and returned brooding to himself. As soon as he was back to being able to control his own body, he would go as far away as he could from the "real world" and back to the quiet and empty Undernet. And perhaps plot an effective way to gain power and erase the human race from the face of the planet.

* * *

During his slow and rather uncoordinated descent, Netto had to stop several times to rest. Something that greatly irked his unwilling companion and made him rant under his breath about how weak humans were.

"Hey Forte…"

_What you want now?_

Netto winced at the barked reply. Forte was still far from being civil to him, but the fact that he had stopped insulting him was a good breakthrough. Especially after only a few hours of being stuck together.

"Can't you tell me how to float, or whatever you do, so I could reach the bottom of this mountain faster than I'm already doing?"

When Forte didn't reply to his request, the boy sighed and slid another five feet downwards, stopping in front of yet another tree. To keep the coexistence to the best civilized level they could gain, he had silently vowed to himself that he wouldn't press the navi into helping him out even if it meant spending all his energy going down an unknown mountain for days.

The sliding, stopping, avoid the random tree or whatever the mountain had to offer as obstacle went on for several more hours. The sky now was starting to brighten bit by bit and Netto felt so exhausted that he thought he was going to drop unconscious at every jolt, and when he thought that he was really at the end of his energy supply, he finally reached the bottom of the slop.

Which promptly turned into a cliff complete with a raging river at the far bottom.

"Well… at least you were right," Netto commented in a weak and raspy voice. "We got somewhere. Too bad it's not what we needed…"

After releasing a short stream of breathless laugh induced by too much exhaustion, the boy turned right and, staying as far as he could from the cliff, resumed walking.

Gone was the stiffness and soreness. Even the feeling on his limbs was gone and after that delirium-induced laugh he felt strangely well. He knew that after having a good night sleep he would regret physically pushing himself so much, but at the moment he just didn't care.

All that mattered was finding some sort of sign of civilization.

"Hey, Forte…"

_What?!_

"Is there no signal out here? You know… to send an email, a phone call, or… something…"

Forte remained silent for a few seconds and focused his attention on the boy he was stuck with. Thanks to some programs that had suddenly popped up after this whole Cross Fusion thing he was able to tell how his host was doing. And at the moment it was as far from sufficient as it could ever be.

Still annoyed at the fact that the human was asking so many things out of him, the black navi did a quick scan of the air. _No. Nothing. Zero. Nada._ He grumbled out, not happy at the lack of signal and a quick and easy way out of their current problem. _Now keep walking, human._

One foot after another, Netto struggled through the pinewood for several more hours until he finally reached the end of the sea of trees and the beginning of a meadow. "Well, hey… we're out…"

Too exhausted to rejoice the fact that he was finally out of the wood, Netto limited himself on laying against a large trunk and observe what lay before him. In the middle of the valley, the river had become calm, slowly twisting towards what appeared to be southwest, while the rest of the land was covered in grass that reached his waist.

Netto blinked blearily at the postcard-like sight. "I bet there is no signal, uh?"

_Nothing. Now keep walking. The sooner I get out of you, the better._

The boy pushed himself away from the tree and started to trudge through the tall grass. "You know, as much as I'd like to cancel this Cross Fusion, I don't think I can go on much further…"

_Weak human, I swear that if you stop you are going to regret it until the end of your days._

Netto sighed and silently struggled through the meadow. As much as he tried to stay civil with Forte, the black navi was seriously starting to exaggerate. He could accept his hate for humans, even if he couldn't understand it. He could accept that he was thirsty for power and he could even accept the fact that there was no way to dissuade him from not hunting down Rockman for his core program. But this… this was just too much…

And the fact that he was wearing black and the summer sun was right over his head didn't help.

The two remained in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes until Netto narrowed his eyes and tried to focus his blurry sight on something in the distance.

"Hey, Forte…" he mentally smiled in amusement when he felt the navi shudder in his head and take a second or two to force himself from not verbally lash out. "Is that… a house that I'm seeing?"

Forte shifted his attention from whatever he was doing to what the boy was seeing. The image he was receiving was quite blurred, but the gray of the stone structure was impossible to mistake. _Yes. Now keep walking._

Although the black navi still pushed him around, Netto felt that he too was weary and ready to lay down and rest for an unknown amount of time. Sure, Forte would never admit _that_ to him, but one of the many advantages – or disadvantages depending on the situation – of the Cross Fusion was to feel what the other could feel. And the more navi and operator were emotionally close, the more they could feel.

Feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline run through his body, the boy pushed onwards with renewed determination. If there was a house out there, then it meant that other people would be close, and that meant communication, and communication meant getting a hold of his dad and put an end to this insane journey.

Literally wading through the grass – and tripping at least twice – Netto reached the house and clung to the wooden door with his fingers to prevent himself from sliding down to the ground.

"Hey!" he called with as much voice as he had, which wasn't much since he could barely hear himself above the bubbling water from the river behind the house. "Is anybody home?"

When no answer came, Netto slammed a fist against the wood in growing desperation. "Heeey!" he hit the door two more times, feeling his desperation morphing into frustration and anger. After all he went through, no one bothered to at least answer him.

At the third slammed fist, Netto's rage exploded and he backed away from the door. "Damn it!"

With a spent scream, the boy lifted his right leg and slammed it against the wooden surface. The old hinges and lock few apart with a shower of splinters and the thick door fell to the ground with a defeated groan and a bang.

"Ah! You got what you deserved!" He commented as he pointed a finger at the downed door and making Forte unconsciously raise an eyebrow at the odd antics of his human host. For a moment the navi had even the feeling that the boy would stomp on it, but as Netto was slowly making his way to it, they both caught sight of the inside of the house.

No wonder no one would answer. The place looked like it had been abandoned long years ago, leaving what little furniture that couldn't be easily carried away with a thick layer of dust and dirt. Netto, rage and frustration forgotten in favor of confusion, further walked inside and looked around.

The house was small, but it had two floors, and although it had been abandoned long ago, it also appeared that with a good clean up it could become a nice place to live in during the holidays. Not that he would start cleaning up… he had his hands full enough as it already was…

The stairs to the second floor were near the entrance and seemed to still be sturdy enough to be able to sustain the weight of a kid. To their left another open door led to the kitchen and on the other side of the house from where he was standing, a large table with a few broken chairs was placed in the middle of the room. On the wall opposite the kitchen there was a fireplace complete with burned wood and a pot.

Too tired to care why people had left and why they had left so much stuff behind, Netto turned around and had the strange idea of grabbing the fallen door and letting it lay slightly against the entrance's doorframe so that it could almost close it.

Forte didn't say anything as the boy took a step back and observed his handiwork. From the readings he was getting out of him, the navi could clearly see that he was beyond exhausted and wasn't thinking clearly, and coupled to the fact that he himself was weary too, he limited himself to a snort and crossed arms.

Netto ignored him and started wandering around the house. The kitchen had no food, as expected, and the only source of clear water seemed to be the river in the back. The dining room, or sitting room, or whatever it was had nothing interesting to offer so the boy trudged towards the stairs and looked up.

"I hope they left behind a bed…" he muttered as he started climbing the groaning steps painfully slow.

The second floor didn't have much to offer either, but when he wandered into the bathroom he stopped to look at the encrusted mirror hanging from the wall. Lifting one hand, he wiped the dirt away as best as he could and looked at himself for the first time after waking up the night before.

What he saw was Forte, alright. Those fin-like things on his helmet were something like a trademark, but there were subtle changes to his appearance. Like his eyes, which were his usual brown instead of red. Another difference was the purple line running down his upper arms until they reached the armguards, and looking down at his legs he noticed that the line running down them on the front had shifted to the side, ending in two rings much like the ones he had when he used Cross Fusion with Rockman.

The symbol on his chest remained Forte's, but he had never noticed the diagonal slash running across it. Netto returned his eyes back to the mirrored image and idly brought a hand to the scar on his chest, feeling the line. Any deeper and Forte's core program would have been heavily damaged, maybe even rendered irreparable, thus deleting the navi.

_Stop prodding, human._

Netto blinked and looked in his own eyes reflected in the mirror, almost hoping to see the black navi staring back at him. "Sorry…" he mumbled out as he let his hand fall and walked out of the bathroom and down the short corridor. "I won't ask."

_Good._

Forte's displeasure subsided, but he still felt unsettled by what he had felt when the boy had found about the scar on his chest. It had been muted by the exhaustion, but there had been something else amongst the scattered emotions of the human kid. Something that had made him stop from lashing out again with a slew of insults.

"Hey, Forte...?"

Momentarily giving up on making his host leave him alone, Forte turned his attention to the kid and grunted in reply.

"Is it ok if I lay down for a bit and get some sleep?"

There was a long pause which Netto filled by staring at the bed he had found in one of the rooms. It was broken, tilting to the side and with a mottled mat that seemed to be just perfect in his eyes. And the half eaten blanket on top of it was even better. Too bad there was no pillow, but after the day he had, he could do.

_Fine. Just stop bothering me now._

Netto wasn't sure why he had asked Forte for permission. After all, he was the one in control of the body they were sharing, but as soon as the black navi had agreed on letting him sleep, the boy happily flopped face first on the mat, lazily grabbed the blanket and covered himself. Perhaps this was something coming from Forte, but he felt safer with it wrapped around his tired body.

"Hey, Forte…"

Forte's left eye twitched and the navi had to call forth all of his patience to not scream in frustration as loudly as he could. _What did I just say, human?_

"Yeah, yeah…" Netto muttered in reply, eyes closing against his will. "Just… thanks."

For the first time in his life, Forte was left speechless for several seconds before he closed his eyes, crossed his arms and turned his attention away from his human host with a loud snort.

_Whatever._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Well, people, you asked for it, I felt that I needed to go for it, and so, lo and behold, here is the second chapter of "Unwilling Partners". Might I remind you that I haven't planned anything for this story beside having Netto and Forte stuck together in a Cross Fusion, so you might find out some weirdness in the future. Also, I might insert some elements coming from the game, but it depends on where this story takes me.

Also, Rockman and everything related to it belongs to Capcom. I own only the plot. Cheers!

Az

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_I can't believe you slept for three days. Three days! I thought we were supposed to look for a way to undo this Cross Fusion…_

Forte's voice was calm and collected, but Netto felt that the navi was seething in anger just under the surface. He couldn't blame him, though. Almost three days of sleep had put a huge delay in their progress to return to their own separate existences.

"I told you, I'm sorry. It's not like I planned it…" Netto replied tiredly. He was currently sitting on the edge of the bed, had his right elbow propped on his knee and was using his hand to keep his head up while a floating screen weakly illuminated his features. During the three days of his coma-like sleep, Forte had discovered that he could create pop-up screens in the air where he could display a variety of things. One of them being a memory that he was sure was related to the incident that had forcefully brought them together.

_And no amount of yelling can wake you up,_ Forte continued in his rant, ignoring his host's words._ What are you, anyway? Some kind of… of selective deaf?_

Netto sighed again and let the black navi rant while he focused his attention back to the video he was watching. So far, there was nothing interesting. Well, Forte was apparently fighting something, but the images were too confused and broken to make out who or what it was.

_Seriously, why of all the humans in the world I had to end up being stuck with you? A stupid, ignorant and useless kid? Your white haired friend, although as despicable as you and the rest of your race, looks to be more intelligent than you…_

"Hey, lay off the insults already!" Netto straightened his stance and frowned. "I told you. Try to be at least civil until--- wait, go back with that video of yours."

Muttering something less than pleasant under his breath about the human race and in particular about his host, Forte brought the memory file to a point a few seconds before Netto had asked for it, and not wanting to repeat the process several times, he set it to run at a slow speed.

"I think I saw something I recognized…" The boy commented as he watched the images with renewed attention. "There. Stop."

The image stilled and Netto brought his hand up to point at the left side of the image. There was a stack of crates hidden in the shadows and the noise of a corrupted file, but the symbol painted on one of them was intact enough to be seen. It was a white fist holding what appeared to be some sort of light source.

"I know I've seen that symbol before, but I can't remember where…" he paused for a moment and frowned. "And I think that this memory is after the incident that got us like this…"

_What makes you believe that, human?_

"Well, first those crates…" Netto explained as he pointed at said objects in the image floating in front of him. "They are obviously real stuff. But more than that there is the fact that your upper arm has a purple line running down it. Something that you normally don't have, if I remember correctly."

Forte grumbled and the boy felt that the navi had also narrowed his eyes at the revelation. _It looks like I was in control back then…_

Netto nodded. "Yeah, you were…" he conceded as he returned his gaze back to the symbol and tried to remember where he had seen it. He knew that he had seen that somewhere else beside the place recorded in Forte's memory…

Letting the video resume playing, both kid and navi remained in silence until the end of the display. The hovering screen disappeared with a blip, darkening the room, and Netto sighed in deject. "It looks like that symbol is our only lead for now… nothing much to go on with…"

Several more seconds passed before the boy stood up and stretched. He was still sore and weak, but after being in a near-coma for nearly three days, moving wasn't such a problem anymore. "Well, better get going," he paused and turned to look outside the open window, frowning in annoyance. "Sure, I have a helmet and the suit is waterproof… but I don't really feel like walking under heavy rain…"

_I am __**not**__ going to wait for the rain to stop. I want out of here as soon as possible, so you better start walking._

The boy raised his hands into the air to placate his companion's ire. "Ok, ok," he said, chuckling despite the hissed threat coming from Forte. "I got it. I'm going."

The navi growled at Netto's chuckle and wished he could curl his hands around the boy's neck and just squeeze until the bones broke in thousands little pieces. _What was that, human?_

Netto rolled his eyes as he walked out of the room and down the stairs. "Geez, Forte… relax! It appears that we're going to be stuck together for a long while so you might as well calm down a bit. Unless you want to develop an ulcer," he paused and slightly tilted his head to the side. "Or a navi version of it, anyway…"

_Then don't mock me, human._

Jumping the last four steps, Netto landed on the floor with a fluid movement and barely a sound. He reached the door and moved it aside, idly wondering what he had thought when he put it back up after breaking it.

Outside, the rain was falling in a downpour, further darkening the night with its misty veil. Luckily there was an old road that started from the house and followed the river in its usually calm course towards the valley bottom and possibly some form of civilization.

Netto groaned lightly and walked out of the house, following the road. The rain patted angrily against his helmeted head, but the sound was oddly soothing his troubled mind and, quite amazingly, he felt that even Forte enjoyed it to some extents.

Now, if only he had the comforting embrace of a cloak…

"I think that you're rubbing onto me, Forte," the boy suddenly spoke after realizing how unprotected he felt without the navi's trademark cape. "I need a cloak…"

Forte frowned as he felt the same discomfort the human boy was currently feeling. _This is not a good thing. You should not feel what I feel, and I sure as hell know that I __**do not**__ want to feel what you feel, measly human._

Still, unknown to the boy, the navi set to work on conjuring up his cloak the same way he had created a screen. There was only one thing that he hated almost as much as the human race, and that was the feeling of his back being unprotected. Sure, a cloak was no real barrier against attacks, but it was an useful smokescreen that he could use to conceal a lot of movements.

Moments later, his brown cloak appeared around Netto's body, covering it from his neck to his ankles. It was already getting soaked by all the rain, but the boy instantly felt relieved at the oddly familiar presence around his shoulders and back. "This is much better," he commented happily as he grabbed two long scarf-like strands of tissue hanging from his neck – another variation brought by the Cross Fusion – and tied them behind his back to keep them out of the way.

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* * *

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Having found out that Forte had deleted any kind of communication program from his persona – something about them being completely useless to him – Netto found himself carefully traipsing through the artificially lightened streets of the rural town located at the end of the valley he had originally woke up into.

Helped by the downpour, he traveled from shadow to shadow and let the sound of his splashing footsteps be hidden by the roar of the falling water. It wouldn't be like that for much longer, though. Dawn was close to breaking and the sky was already less dark than it had been before he walked into the town.

"This would be much easier if you had a mail system," the boy muttered to himself as he peeked behind a corner to see if the next street was empty. "Really, how do you contact someone when you need it?"

_It's simple, human. I do not,_ Forte replied in a snort.

"You must have a really boring life…"

_That is not your business, human._

After seeing that the street was deserted, Netto crossed it in a rush and disappeared into the shadows of a narrow alleyway on the other side. The boy was never one for stealth, preferring a more direct approach, but he had to admit that he was starting to enjoy being able to slip around without being noticed. Sure, people were still inside their houses, sleeping or just waking up, but that was beside the point, he decided.

Crossing a few more roads, the boy finally found a train station and examined it from the safety of the darkened alleyway. No one was around. Not even the workers that were supposed to start up the trains and any other system that was needed to run the public transportation.

"I don't like this…" Netto murmured, suddenly feeling paranoid. "Too quiet… where are all the workers?"

Backtracking into the alley, the boy carefully scanned the road and the buildings facing it. He wasn't an expert on ambushes and the finer points of tactics, but after all the fights he had gone through with Rockman, he knew when to listen to his instinct. And right now it was screaming "Traps right ahead!" at him.

"Forte, do you have any kind of radar or scanner available? I think someone is waiting for us out there…"

Silence filled his head for several seconds until the black navi growled under his breath. He didn't like working with the human kid, and much less having to fulfill any request coming from him. If it was for him, he would just barge in there and destroy anything that stood between him and his goal. However, not being in control of their shared body, Forte grudgingly obliged and let the scanner take a sweep of the immediate area, confirming what the boy had suspected.

_Nothing I couldn't take care of, human, but there are four interferences coming from the perimeter of the train station,_ he explained with a frown, not recognizing the kind of energy signal the scanner was picking up._ They are evenly spaced, are giving off a steady source of energy and are currently unmoving. Do you need more details, human?_

Netto raised an eyebrow in amusement. So far, Forte had barely collaborated with him and had spent a good part of the time spewing insults, so when he was handed such details on whatever was hidden at the station he was left speechless.

"Ah, no. That's enough," he said as he looked up at the buildings surrounding him. Perhaps he could jump on top of one and have a better view of the station. "Anything else worth of mentioning?"

Forte took a few seconds to think as he examined the data he was getting from the scanner. _No. Maybe the interference from these four sources, whatever the hell they are, are scrambling up this scanner, but there is nothing worth of further mention. Not even other accursed humans are around._

Deciding that the place wasn't anymore safe, Netto turned around and quickly walked away. Everything Forte had said confirmed his suspicions, and the boy wasn't in the mood to fall into a trap just because he needed to phone home. Not after all the stuff he had gone through already.

"Forte, I know that you detest me asking you to do stuff, but could you keep an eye on that scanner of yours and tell me anything worth of being considered a threat to us?"

As the boy quickly crossed a road and disappeared into the dulled darkness of yet another alley, the navi grunted unhappily but did as he was requested knowing that any trap the human kid walked into, he would unwillingly follow the same fate.

The two then fell into silence once again. Forte kept an eye on the scanner and Netto quickly navigated the still deserted streets until they were enough far away from the train station to be comfortable.

Now the boy was crouching in a tree, hiding. Rain still poured, but the sky had brightened considerably since the last time he had checked, and already people were starting to leave the safety of their houses to go to work. He knew that he had to move soon and find a better shelter, or he would be stuck in that tree until night, and spending over twelve hours perched on a branch was an idea that he didn't like.

And he still needed to contact his father. Yet, after almost walking into a trap, Netto suspected that whoever was trying to capture him had put under surveillance his family and friends. Suddenly, the Cross Fusion incident that he and Forte had found themselves into didn't seem very casual anymore. And he knew the navi with him was probably thinking the same thing.

Lightly thumping his right fist against the bark of the tree, Netto watched the part of the street visible through the foliage. Traffic was still sparse, but it was slowly increasing, a clear sign that he would have to move as soon as possible.

After waiting a few minutes for the road to be clear of civilians, the boy jumped down from the tree and rushed to the safety of yet another alley. There wasn't much in there, only a dumpster on one side and a fire escape on the other that led up to the roof of the building it was attached to.

Ignoring both potential hiding spots – a roof wasn't the best hiding spot because of the whole open sky thing and he was_ not_ going to hide into a stinky dumpster – Netto reached the other end of the hallway and paused. He knew that it would be really easy to leave the city without being noticed, but before that he needed to send a message to his father and at least tell him that he was still alive.

With emails and phone calls out of the question, he was left with the only option of walking all the way back home and tell his family about his current problem face to face, or…

Brown eyes focused on a small souvenir shop on the other side of the street that had just opened. If he could gain access to the store without being seen by the owner, who was inside and moving about, he could grab the necessary stuff to send a letter. It would take longer, but it would be much safer.

The problem of distracting the shopkeeper, however, still remained and Netto sighed in frustration. He needed a distraction, something big enough to draw everyone's attention but nothing too damaging for the town itself. And asking Forte for advice was something he'd rather not do because, if he was lucky, all he would get in answer was to blow up a building with people inside.

"Wait, I know!"

Only partially knowing his host's emotions, Forte raised an eyebrow at him and observed as the boy rushed back into the alleyway and reached the previously ignored dumpster. "This will do," the boy muttered to himself as he grabbed the large american-like trashcan by one side and easily dragged it to the other end of the path, placing it as close to the main street as he could.

With the first step of his plan done, Netto crouched and jumped on top of one of the buildings surrounding him. If he was really being hunted down by whoever had put him and Forte in that situation, then he had to be fast in executing his idea. Running towards the end of the roof, the boy leaped into the air once again, his cloak flapping wildly behind him, and landed on a roof on the other side of the street.

Turning around, Netto focused his attention onto the dumpster. "Now, to set it on fire…" he commented before taking a deep breath and letting his conscience fall in tune with the navi he was stuck with. Forte wasn't particularly happy at that, especially since it felt like the boy was trying to… "snuggle" with him.

However, he was distracted from his disgust for the closeness the human was trying to attain with him when a sudden, violent surge of power pervaded their body, almost overwhelming his consciousness. It was stopped by a mental wall, though, and the raging energy swelling all around him was pushed back where it came from.

Forte wasn't the only one that had been overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of power, however. Netto, after establishing a deeper connection with the black navi to gain the use of his abilities, was holding his head with a hand and gritting his teeth in pain. "Woah! That was sudden. Too sudden…" he groaned, loosing his concentration and fully returning to reality.

With Rockman, using the Rock Buster and every battle chip loaded into the PET was as easy as breathing, but the Cross Fusion he shared with Forte felt different. There were no battle chips loaded, no programs that automatically took care of loading the navi's standard abilities with a vocal command from him.

"Ok, let's try this again…" Netto murmured as he looked down at his hands. "Slower, this time…"

Closing his eyes he concentrated again, feeling almost like that time he had mastered the "Dream Sword Program Advance" with Rockman. Letting his consciousness slowly near the black navi's, the boy let a small part of the raging energy collect in his hands to form a small, crackling sphere. It was smaller than a golf ball, but it would be far enough to blow up the dumpster.

"I hope I don't have to concentrate this much every time I need to use your abilities, Forte," he muttered as he looked down at the manipulated energy in his hands. "Because if we are in a pinch, well… you can guess it on your own, I suppose."

No reply came from the navi, but Netto knew that he was observing him with a keen eye. He was probably thinking of a way to keep the same energy levels they had now even after separating from each other…

Dismissing the silence from the power hungry navi, Netto hurled the crackling energy at the dumpster and watched it explode with an angry flare and a loud boom, sending trash everywhere. Peeking down at the street from the edge of the roof, he watched as the owner of the souvenir shop came to the door to see what had just happened. The man said something that was muted by the sound of the rain, ran back inside and came out once again after a few seconds carrying an old model PET and a fire extinguisher.

Seeing his window of opportunity as soon as the man rushed to the burning trash, the boy dropped to the ground below and walked inside the unattended shop. His cape dripping water onto the floor, he made his way to a stack of postcards and quickly browsed them, grabbing one depicting a cliff overlooking the sea.

One item down, more to go, and without enough time to be picky, Netto grabbed the first pen he could find – a red one – a bunch of stamps from a drawer and a small plastic bag to protect his "purchase" from getting wet.

Satisfied, he quietly left the souvenir shop and disappeared into the city with a billow of his cape, leaving the group of humans that had collected around the still burning decoy completely unaware of his presence.

_I didn't think you could come up with such an effective plan, human._

Netto smiled from behind the rim of his cloak. "Is that a compliment I'm hearing?"

_No. I'm just stating that you are stupid and that I would have never thought of you as being capable of coming up with something like that._

The boy's smile widened and his eyes sparkled with amusement. "Uh uh," he said with a nod, not believing a single word the navi was saying. "Sure, Forte. Sure."

Forte hissed in indignation, furious that the human he was stuck with was mocking him again. _I __**hate**__ you._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I actually had a bit of problems with this third chapter, especially in deciding if I should use the Japanese suffixes that Blues and Rockman give to their operators. Having only seen the English version of the anime, all I know is that Blues always call Enzan "Enzan-sama" and Rockman goes for "Netto-kun". Now, "sir Enzan" and a simple "Netto" (unless the situation called for it) sounds really odd to me.

I'm not one of those Japanese obsessed people that loves to insert as many Japanese words in her fic as possible (and then have to put a glossary/translation at the end), but I feel that these can be an exception to the rule, especially if you saw the anime in its original language and you are used to the original names of the characters.

Also, I'm looking for the Japanese names for Forte's abilities. I know a couple, but not them all (I know that in the movie he uses "Darkness Overload" and "Dark Arm Blade")

**Also,** I'm looking for someone that can draw me Netto Cross Fused with Forte (since I'm extremely bad at drawing humans). If you want to do that, feel free to do it. I'd really like to see how you depict them after reading my initial description on chapter one.

**Again,** this is not betaed, nor something I put too much effort in reaching perfection. I write this for fun and because I really want to tell this story, after all. So, please, forgive me the errors and grammatical mishaps I do. Btw, I hope the fight scene towards the end is something worth reading. I'm not really good at that kind of stuff…

Az.

.

* * *

.

Enzan brought his right hand up to rub at his face and sighed. There was no way he would be able to write the report that his superior had asked him. Netto had been missing for three weeks and no amount of searching seemed to find him. That, he had to admit it, was starting to really worry him. Rockman, however, was the worst of them all.

The blue navi hadn't slept at all since his operator had disappeared and more than once Yuichiro had to force him into rest. Right now he was walking up and down in Enzan's red PET and Blues was having a distracting conversation with him to prevent him from literally breaking down into pieces of data.

The boy sighed, only partially hearing the two navi talking to each other, and closed his laptop – there was no use in keeping it on if he was unable to write something in it – before taking out a postcard from his bag.

It had been two days ago, now, that he had received it. It came from Amerope, in particular a small town known for its seafood and the valley it was nestled into, had an overload of stamps and – Rockman instantly confirmed it – it had been written by Netto.

That alone was the reason why he was now on a plane and headed for the town of Seaville.

Turning the postcard around to read the message on the back, Enzan frowned. The message, scribbled in a haste, was cryptic. Something that the boy knew that Netto was unable to do, or at least never bothered to do. Coupled with the fact that he had been missing for so long and that he had preferred an old fashioned postcard rather than a phone call, well, the boy had become instantly suspicious.

"This cliff is a nice place for watching sunsets, and the rare pink pebble is a nice souvenir to take home."

Enzan's muttering attracted his navi's attention, who finally gave up on stopping Rockman from pacing. "Still thinking about that message, Enzan-sama?"

The white haired boy nodded. "Yes. Obviously Netto want us to go here, or he wouldn't have gone as far as sending us this postcard…" he spoke lowly to not attract the attention of the other passengers around him. He would have taken a plane owned by his company, but he had the feeling that if he did that, someone that wasn't supposed to know would have noticed.

So, after agreeing with Rockman that no one beside them should know about the message from their missing friend, Enzan had gone to the airport and took the first available seat on a plane, directed as close to Seaville as possible. Hopefully that had thrown any possible stalkers off for a while.

"With such a message on it…" he continued. "And in red ink, too. I have the feeling that Netto was in a rush when he wrote this…"

.

* * *

.

The sneeze that suddenly shook his body rocked his precarious perch, forcing Netto to cling to the rock wall behind his back with his fingers. "This wouldn't have happened _if_ you told me how to fly!"

_And I told you, __**human**__, how I fly is something that __**cannot**__ be taught! You just do it, you useless cretin!_

Netto's cape waved gently into the air as the sea breeze blew past him and the boy felt the branch slightly give in under his weight. Below him, a few hundreds feet down, the waves angrily crashed against pointed rocks.

"Peachy…" he muttered. "Just… peachy."

.

* * *

.

It was only a day later that Enzan finally walked through the wood to reach the cliff depicted in the postcard. Ever wary of possible stalkers, the boy maintained a quick pace as he navigated past trees and bushes with the aid of a local map Blues had found. He was close now, and he could faintly hear the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.

"Enzan-sama," the call coming from his PET halted the boy's progress through the trees, "I'm detecting odd energy emissions coming from the cliff ahead."

Enzan grabbed his PET from his belt and brought it up, activating the hovering touch-screen to watch as his navi displayed a technical diagram that he could barely understand despite his rather large knowledge. Still, from what little he could understand of the numbers, lines and bars, this was something that he had never seen before.

"Keep a record of it, Blues. Maybe Professor Hikari will get something useful out of it."

Once his navi nodded in acknowledgment, the boy replaced the PET back into its holster and resumed walking. "Netto, what kind of trouble have you gotten into this time?" he asked to himself in a whisper.

"Do you think that someone is trying to hurt Netto-kun?"

Rockman's voice was filled with worry and Enzan couldn't help but feel sorry for the blue navi. After getting to know him and his operator, he had understood the importance of friendship and he knew exactly how Netto and Rockman were especially close. Not even deletion by the hands of Pharaohman had kept them separated for long.

"I don't know, Rockman," he replied, frowning as he walked under a low branch and stepped out of the wood. "But if Netto managed to send us a message, then I'm willing to bet he is just fine."

Rockman made a noise of acknowledgment. "I hope we can find him soon… mom and dad are really worried…"

Enzan let his eyes scan his new surroundings. He was roughly on the same place as the one depicted on the postcard, with the town of Seaville being visible to his left and the blue expanse of water in front of him. The sun was high into the sky and angrily heated anything that was under its rays, rendering the day perfect for a trip at the beach.

It was a nice spot overall, but there was no sign of Netto.

Walking further towards the edge of the cliff, and being careful to not slip, the boy peeked down at the sea. The wall was vertical, almost smooth, with only a few ledges here and there to grab onto. There was also a small tree hanging from a fissure that had a broken branch, but no signs of brown haired, loud mouthed kids.

Thinking back at the cryptic message, however, he backtracked from the edge and looked down at the ground. It was a plain rocky surface, with patches of dirt and grass, but rarely a piece of loose rock.

"This is going to take a while…"

And indeed it took him a while to find what he had peen pointed to. Almost four incessant hours of searching up and down the length of the cliff, with Blues and Rockman scanning the area for anything worth mentioning and keeping an eye on that odd energy reading. It was unknown if the radiation was harmful for human's or navi's health, but so far, nothing bad had happened to the trio because of it.

Now crouching onto the ground, Enzan's blue eyes observed the pale pink pebble in his hand. One side was smooth to the touch, but the other face presented a small symbol in red ink. The lines were wobbly and imprecise, with a few smudges here and there, but the design was recognizable.

It was another message from Netto. He was sure of that.

"Blues," he called as he stood up and took his PET out. "See if you can find anything about this symbol."

Without an access to the net and its wide source of information, the two navis were forced to search the smaller databanks of Enzan's PET. "Enzan-sama, we found a match." Blues said after a few minutes of silence. "The company that owned it closed six years ago for bankruptcy. Osamu Michiro, the owner, was found to be guilty of diverting the money needed for medical research, but no one ever found out what it was used for, and he escaped capture. The company used to be a partner with IPC and had close ties with SciLabs."

Enzan nodded in understanding and clenched his fist around the small pebble, suddenly feeling that whatever was going on had become much more complicated. "You better be safe, Netto," he said to the air as he turned around to go back to the city. Now that he had found the clue left by his friend, there was nothing left to do at the cliff.

.

* * *

.

Netto sneezed again as he crawled out of the bubbling sea and onto an hopefully deserted beach. "I hope I'm not getting a cold…" he muttered as he squeezed his cape to get rid of excessive water. "I already have enough problem as it is…"

_It's your fault if we fell into the sea,_ Forte commented grumpily. _I told you to jump back on top, but no. You had to be reluctant._

Feeling that his cloak had been wrung enough, Netto returned it around his shoulders and let it hide his body once again. "And I thought that I told you that we were being followed," he paused briefly and scanned the beach up and down. "And no. Tearing people apart is _not_ an option, Forte. It's wrong."

_Human are useless filth. The only thing that they deserve is being erased from the face of the planet._

The boy trudged through the sand, relaxed but with his senses on full alert. "Too bad you're stuck with me, then. But really, you should get to know us, Forte. Some of us are evil, but there are a lot of good people out there that deserve to at least be left alone to live an happy life."

_You disgust me, human,_ the black navi sneered, angry that he couldn't end the boy's life and go back to the net and his lone existence. _Your words, your ideas… everything of you disgust me to no end. You deserve nothing but complete destruction. You don't deserve to live._

Taken aback by the strong hate coming from Forte, Netto stopped walking and looked up at the clear sky, feeling mentally weary. Most of the time their forced coexistence was quiet and there was a mutual agreement to not tear each other's mind apart, but there were times when having to deal with the navi's dark emotions for humanity put an heavy toll on both his consciousness and body. Sometimes the hate and anger was so much that it even physically hurt…

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, focusing on the scent and taste of the salty air coming from the sea behind him. There was no way that he was going to lose to Forte's emotions and he would even go as far as to convince him that humans weren't that bad.

"You kind of reminds me of Enzan, you know?" he suddenly spoke. "He used to not care about anything that he didn't deem worthy enough of his attention. But in the end we became friends. Sure, sometimes he still gets on my nerves, but that's part of who he is."

His brown eyes softened – an odd sight since after Cross Fusion they had become shaped like Forte's – and a content smile appeared on his lips. The navi hadn't replied to what he had said yet, so he hoped that he was at least thinking about his words.

_I don't need a life lesson from you, human,_ his companion replied, voice quiet and strangely devoid of malice. _Besides, we have something more pressing to take care of at the moment…_

Netto returned his gaze back to the beach and observed as several presences crawled through the inland vegetation. Some where as big as Stoneman, but most of them were the size of an adult human.

"What the… navi in the real world without a Dimensional Area?"

Netto was truly baffled as the twelve or so NetNavis walked under the sun in a thick line. They were armed to the teeth with both long and close ranged weapons. "You are to come with us," an average black and purple navi stated emotionlessly, almost like a robot.

The boy frowned in worry. They had finally cornered him and he still didn't had any real grasp on Forte's natural abilities. All that he had at disposition was the superior physical strength and his quick thinking.

"Looks like there is no other way out but to fight…"

For the first time since they had been stuck together, Forte agreed with him wholeheartedly. _Destroy. Destroy them all!_ he said with a wide maniacal grin. _I want to feel their data crumble under my fingers!_

Netto wasn't really happy to have a power-hungry, psychotic voice telling him what to do with the lives of his enemy, but he had to admit that it was either their death or his capture, and he wasn't planning to be caught. Not now, nor in the distant future.

Taking a step back from the group of navis, the boy quickly scanned for the weakest link in the chain. The small yellow and green one to the far left looked promising, but he wouldn't count on that until he actually fought with them.

"What do you want from me?"

Stall for time, let them get impatient and make the first move – hopefully a wrong one – and maybe get some useful information in the process. Evil guys usually loved to brag about their plan at some point. Even Forte fell into the category a few times in the past and had gone as far as explain to Rockman why he wanted his Ultimate Program the first time he had tried to get it.

Trusting the black navi to warn him of any incoming attack, Netto focused on collecting a small amount of energy in his hands. He was still far from controlling it with a simple thought, but he was slowly getting the hang of it.

"Not you, puny human," Netto, having successfully summoned the energy he needed, had returned his attention back on his attackers. Idly, he wondered why he was stuck with every navi in the world that seemed to love insulting him. "But the navi that is with you."

The boy raised an eyebrow as he took another step backwards. "But since Forte is stuck with me, whatever you want with him, you want with me too, so the question still remains. What do you want from me?"

The navi that was talking with him snarled and raised a hand to point at him. "Seize him!"

Having received the order from their ringleader, the first two navi charged forwards. To say that they were the complete opposite of each other was an understatement. One was large, slow and covered in a bulky armor complete with spikes, the other was small, quick on his feet and had been programmed to look like an harmless child.

The first one to reach him was the kid, whom in his exuberance to please his boss did the error to jump at his target holding his sword high up into the air for a downward strike. He was the first one to meet his end by one of Netto's hidden energy attacks.

Jumping through the mist of data, the boy stretched his hand and hit the second attacking navi right on his emblem, deleting him even before he could realize that his own attack had been sidestepped so easily.

Netto easily landed on the sand and watched the remaining navis from behind the rim of his cloak. Thanks to his surprise counterattack, two of his attackers were out of the fight, but now that the enemy realized that he shouldn't be underestimated, things would get harder to deal with.

Without warning, the boy dashed forwards and directed himself towards the green and yellow navi he had noticed earlier. The sudden charge caught the enemy by surprise and Netto was able to land a punch to his sternum, winding him, before he was forced to jump backwards to avoid a sword attack from a fantasy RPG paladin-like navi.

Somersaulting into the air and landing back onto the beach in a crouch, Netto narrowed his eyes at the sword-wielding opponent. "Forte, that guy is someone that we need to keep a special eye on."

Forte snorted in indignation, but he understood why his host was being wary of that particular opponent despite the huge amount of energy at his disposal. Without being able to easily summon any special attack, the boy would have to be careful of anything remotely decent at fighting. _If I was on my own, human, that sorry excuse for a navi wouldn't last a second against me._

Netto chuckled in amusement as he sidestepped another sword attack and briefly glanced at the other navis that were quickly joining the fight. "Too bad you're not in control, then. I would like the help."

_I remind you, human, that I do this for my own survival,_ the black navi retorted as he kept his senses trained onto the paladin. _I can't care less of what happens to you._

The boy jumped in the air and landed on the back of a large navi, punching him at the base of the neck so violently that the damaged area exploded in a shower of corrupted data. Having received a fatal wound, the large navi collapsed in a heap on the ground and dissolved into thin area.

Seeing another companion lost to the black fury that Netto was, the remaining enemy navis grouped around their leader and paused in their attack to come up with a more effective plan to capture him. The boy however, seeing their reluctance in blindly attacking him, took the opportunity to summon more energy in his hands and jumped into the air, his cape trailing behind him. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but his instincts were telling him to act in that particular way.

"Darkness…" the energy in his hands increased tenfold and Netto felt a rush of pain shot up his arms as the power became almost uncontrollable. "…Overload!"

And when he slammed onto the ground amongst his enemies hands first, he found himself propelled through the air in a spin as an explosion of black energy deleted all the navis that weren't fast enough to get out of the way. He then landed onto the sand with a loud thud and gasped as his hands felt like they had been submerged into acid.

_To your left!_

Without thinking and still feeling dizzy from his recent attack, Netto rolled away from yet another sword attack. He quickly stood up on one knee and lifted his head to look at the paladin-like navi with narrowed eyes. Out of all the navis, whom where either deleted or laying unconscious or wounded on the ground, he barely had a scratch on his armor.

"I must admit, kid," he said as he patted crystallized sand off his left shoulder. "I am impressed. You have more control on the navi's abilities than we originally thought."

Netto grunted and stood back onto his feet, wobbling slightly. He felt winded and his hands ached, but he was not going to surrender to the enemy.

"This time you get off easy," the navi continued, replacing the sword with his hand. "But next time we meet, you won't be so lucky."

The boy raised an eyebrow at he odd antics of his enemy and watched as he disappeared into a shower of data along with the others, leaving the beach as deserted as it had been when he had crawled out of the sea.

Not wanting to watch a gift horse in the mouth, Netto pinched the bridge of his nose and trudged through the rest of the beach to disappear into the inland vegetation. "That was too much…" he muttered to himself as he felt an oncoming migraine pervade his brain. "I won't do that anytime soon. At least not until I have a better grasp on all this energy…"

While his host navigated through the trees directed back to the city – and hopefully a painkiller – Forte was left thinking. For the first time since finding himself stuck into the mind of a human boy, he had realized that the kid wasn't as useless as he had originally thought. It had barely been five days since he had started to use his energy and already he was getting around to manipulate it with increasing efficiency.

_Go south, human, _he said as he brought up a map of the local zone he had obtained during their brief visit to the town of Seaville. _There is another city a day of walk from here. We might as well get on a plane and go back to your home country. We have been in this place long enough._

Netto nodded and let his cloak envelop him once again. "I would have waited for Enzan to come to the cliff," he muttered more to himself than his companion. "But I knew this would happen so all I could do was leave that hint for him to pick up… I just hope he can find more about it than I can…"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Short chapter, but I felt that going any further would totally ruin it. Also, you might find it sweet.

Btw, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az.

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* * *

.

Boarding the plane had been easy. All he had to do was hide amongst the luggage at night and enter the cargo section when people weren't looking. Getting off was another thing, however, because after twelve or so hours of flight they had landed in the late morning.

Grumpy and tired for not having been able to sleep at all, Netto observed as the hatch to the cargo bay was opened and the baggage unloaded by two workers. Because of being nestled in the farthest corner he had found, the two men hadn't noticed him. The only good thing about the whole trip was that he had learned how to fly, but that still required a lot of concentration.

"I don't think blowing something up will help me out this time…" he muttered to himself as he tried to take a glance at what laid beyond the hatch. From the angle he was in, however, all he could see was the treadmill used to move the suitcases from the plane to the truck below.

The truck was a perfect hiding spot, he decided, and it would carry him from the plane to the airport without being seen, but he still had to find a way to get past the two workers without being caught. And he didn't even had enough time to plan since he could see the men slowly making their way towards his location.

Crouching behind a stack of suitcases to avoid being seen by the passing workers, Netto sighed to himself. Maybe there was no way to get out of that situation undetected and, deep down, he didn't mind being seen as he was now, but he knew that there were people out there that were out to capture him and get something out of Forte, whom had angrily retorted with a "_hell if I know!_" once he had asked him what it was.

_On the other end of the cargo bay, human,_ Forte's voice brought his mind back to the present and his gaze instantly focused where the navi had pointed him to. _There is a door, behind it a ladder that leads to the passenger zone of the plane. You might find a way to get us out of the mess __**you**__ put us into._

Netto bit down an angry and frustrated remark as he crawled towards the door. Although he was sure it wasn't his fault for ending up in that situation – it was either the plane or three or more days of boat - Forte was at least helping him out, even if in doing so he added insults and accusations of being totally incompetent.

"You're such a… a…" the boy growled under his breath as he opened the door as soon as the two men were back to the opening, quickly disappearing behind it. "You know what, never mind…"

Ignoring Forte, whom was muttering something to himself, Netto closed the door with a soft click and climbed the ladder until he reached the hatch that would lead to the passenger zone above. After listening for a few seconds to see if there were people still present, the boy carefully opened the lid and peered through a narrow fissure. When he confirmed that no one was around to watch him crawl out of the cargo bay, he hauled himself through the hatch and stood in the middle of the corridor.

His eyes scanned up and down the plane until they landed on the door leading to the cockpit. He wasn't a pilot, but if he pressed a few buttons he was bound to cause something that would distract people long enough for him to get out of the plane.

"It's worth a try…" he sighed in resignation as he trudged to the door and opened it. He found himself staring at a slew of levers, buttons and indicators, or whatever they were. Crouching low to not be seen from outside the front windows, he quickly pressed, pulled and turned whatever he could reach until all the lights came on and an annoying whine came from the speaker overhead.

Mission accomplished, Netto quickly hightailed from the cockpit and crawled back into the cargo to wait for the first opportunity to jump out of the plane and into the truck. Opportunity that came as soon as the two men noticed that the front lights of the large vehicle were on and blinding anyone unfortunate enough to be in their path.

Congratulating himself for the well executed, improvised plan, Netto ran down the treadmill with silent steps and hid under the luggage in the truck. From there it didn't take long for the airport staff to solve the problem he had willingly caused, classify it as a random computer problem and return to their routine.

"Man… I want to go home already…"

.

* * *

.

Enzan drummed his fingers onto his desk at home, frustrated. After coming back from Amerope, he had instantly started his research on 'MedTech" - Michiro's company - but so far he had only gotten the basic stuff. Name, address, what it was supposed to do and why it had been closed. He hoped that Rockman would have more luck in his search at SciLabs.

"Enzan-sama."

The boy adverted his eyes from the monitor and looked at the hovering screen coming from the PET. Blues had just come back from a stroll on the internet and had a very light frown on his masked face. "I found nothing regarding the company that we already didn't know, but I have heard concerning rumors about a… 'movement'…"

Enzan raised an eyebrow. "A movement? What kind of movement?"

Blues shook his head and sighed in deject. "I'm not sure, Enzan-sama. I overheard two navis talking about it in hushed voices, but when I tried to get closer, they apparently recognized me and left in a hurry. Whatever it was, they don't want the officials to know."

The boy tapped a finger on the surface of the desk and hummed. "Then it might have something to do with whatever Netto is involved in."

"Should I inform the officials and SciLabs?"

Blue eyes closed and the white haired boy shook his head. "No, not yet. Keep it under wraps until we have something real in our hands to make the accusations. If whoever is behind all this realizes that we know, they might go into hiding…" he paused a few seconds to think. "Let Rockman know, though."

The navi nodded his head and disappeared into a shower of data as he exited his PET.

.

* * *

.

"Hey, Forte," Netto's voice was barely audible over the racket of the freight train he was traveling on. "How long have we been stuck like this?"

Having found out that they had landed on the farthest city from where he lived, the boy had reached the train station and had boarded the first train directed towards home. Now he was sitting inside one of the containers, an empty one, leaning against one end and observing the hole he had made on the opposite wall in order to enter. All that while holding a cold cup of instant ramen he had forced himself to snag before boarding.

_Eleven days and fourteen hours. Give or take._

The boy smiled at the quick reply and grabbed a few noodles with his chopsticks. "You know, you're easier to get along now," he commented as he munched on his food before making a disgusted face at the taste. "You don't insult me as much as you used to when we first woke up."

_I still hate you, human,_ Forte hissed back in anger and indignation._ But considering the fact that we're stuck in the same body and we share the same brain, sadly, your headache is also mine._

The black navi could vividly remember that time, five days ago, when he had almost caused damage to his host's brain by yelling so loudly that the boy thought he was going to have his ears bleed. As much rewarding as the thought was, Forte had found out that the stabs of pain brought by headaches weren't fun.

Netto raised an eyebrow in amusement as he forced himself to drink the remaining soup. "That's what you get for screaming in my brain," he said while he squeezed the paper cup and chopsticks in one hand and incinerated them with some of his dark powers. He had been practicing a lot lately, and manipulating all that energy to form spheres into his hands had become much easier, almost second nature. Floating and creating different shapes, like Forte's swords, still required a certain level of concentration that he couldn't afford during a battle.

_As soon as I'm out of your head, __**human**__,_ the navi growled heatedly and mentally narrowed his cold eyes at the boy. _I will wrap my hands around your neck and slowly squeeze the life out of your pathetic body._

The reply he got from his host was far from what he had hoped to attain. Standing up, Netto rolled his eyes and reached the hole in the metal to peer outside. "Sure, sure," he muttered dismissively with a wave of his hand. "I wonder where we are. I don't recognize the place…"

Knowing that there was no way he would be able to scare the boy while he was stuck in his brain, Forte growled under his breath and stomped as far away as he could from his host's consciousness. _You'll pay for this. I swear it._

Netto sighed heavily and leaned against the molten edge of the hole to watch the land pass by. "Why do you hate us so much, anyway?" he suddenly asked, curious as to why his unwilling partner was so full of hate and anger towards humanity.

_It is __**none**__ of your business, human._

Sighing, the boy moved away from the hole and started to float around the inside of the container. "Fine, fine. Wallow in your hate and rage for no apparent reason," he grumbled, crossing his legs and letting his arms rest on his knee. "You'll only deteriorate that way. Not to mention that it makes you weak."

Before Forte could retaliate, Netto lifted a hand into the air. "Wait, let me finish first," he paused and flopped backwards so that he was floating on his back, looking up at the rusty ceiling and letting his cloak brush the ground. "You _are_ strong, Forte. Few could battle you and hope to get away with their lives, but… have you ever wondered how strong you could be if you set your mind in protecting something you care about?"

_I don't need to protect anything but myself, human,_ the navi spat back with a mix of indignation and insulted pride. _And all I care about is myself._

Netto rolled into the air and 'landed' on the ceiling, letting his arms fall limply towards the ground along with his cloak. "Not enough," he replied without a second thought. "At one point self preservation will tell you to run and hide to heal your wounds, but if you have to protect something you won't be moved until either you or your opponent gets deleted, and I assure you, Forte, that in this case, deletion is not an option you will take. Not to mention that you could discover a power that you would have never thought possible to have."

At the mention of power, the navi suppressed his need to insult his host and listened with a curiosity that he had never thought possible for him to feel. To him, power was everything. It was the key for survival. The more you had, the less enemies were stupid enough to face you.

"Like that time I faced Dr. Regal cross fused with his navi Laserman," Netto continued with a small smile as he felt that he had gained Forte's full attention. "He literally wiped the floor with me and Rockman. Not even my best battle chip had any real effect beside stall him for a few seconds."

The boy then righted himself and took to hover in the middle of the container, letting his cloak surround his body in a safe embrace. "When I thought we were done for, well, guess what happened?" he paused for a moment and felt the navi get irked for the interruption. That made him chuckle in amusement. "All the navis that Regal captured and used for his worldwide Dimensional Area lent me and Rockman so much power that the giant Laserman was a breeze to beat. A kick here, a punch there and the final charged shot from the Rock Buster was all that was needed to defeat the guy."

Silence filled the air as Netto landed back onto the ground and returned to the hole to watch the fleeting landscape. "That's what I meant with 'if you really want to protect something, _nothing_ will stop you."

Forte was frowning, but instead of insulting and retorting with angry words, he was quiet and was thinking about what his host had said. He refused to stoop so low as to care about something that wasn't his own persona, but now he understood why Rockman had overwritten his program during their fight against Nebula Gray. Despite willingly offering his Ultimate Program, the blue navi was so dead set in protecting his operator that his will overpowered his own.

_So that's why…_

At the murmured words, the boy slightly lifted his head. "Did you say something?"

_No, nothing, human,_ the navi replied as he slowly withdrew from his host's consciousness once again to think and sort his emotions. He could feel a mix of disgust, wonder, anger, hate and envy. _Just leave me alone._

Understanding the predicament of his companion, Netto nodded his head. "If you need me, I'm here."

_I don't need your help, human._

The boy smiled from behind the rim of his cloak and returned his gaze back to the land outside his temporary shelter. Forte had sounded tired and gloomy and he had managed to steal a quick 'glance' at his emotions, which told him that his words had shaken the foundations of the navi's beliefs.

"I know, Forte," he said after a short pause. "It was just for your information."

The only answer he got was a short and disgruntled _humph_.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Again, short chapter, but I really like how it came out. Yay me!

Do you think that the fight scenes are too fast?

Btw, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az.

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* * *

.

It was a truly beautiful day, with no clouds in the sky and a breeze blowing through the city that made his cloak sway gently around him. The weather was perfect for going out and have fun with friends and family.

There was only one problem, though, and that was that the city of Densan was currently overrun by viruses that had materialized at one point in the morning.

Netto was standing on top of a skyscraper, balanced on the edge and looking down at the chaos on the ground. Civilians had long disappeared into the safety of their homes and shelters, leaving the officials and police to deal with anything that was hostile. Either barricaded in a building or moving about in group of dozens, the men and women used old fashioned weapons to shot down any virus that crossed their path.

"I wonder why they aren't using a Dimensional Area…" the boy muttered to himself as he diverted his eyes from the street below to scan the cityscape in search of the characteristic dome. "Maybe there is a problem with the generators…"

Having decided that joining the fight would only expose him to those who were trying to capture him, Netto had regretfully left the viruses to the officials, gritting his teeth and grabbing a hold of something to stop himself every time he heard a scream coming from the streets. He had stopped where he was only because he had seen Enzan enter the building in front of the skyscraper he was perched on and still hadn't come out.

_Are you sure that your father will help with this?_ Forte was being as distrustful as always, but Netto felt that there was something else under all the distrust and hate the navi felt for the human race. He wasn't getting a clear view on it, but after shivering every time SciLabs was mentioned, he was betting that Forte didn't like the place at all. And it wasn't just because it was a place where people would love to put their hands on his Ultimate Program to study it.

"Pretty sure about it," the boy replied absently as he watched Enzan run out of the building just before the Dimensional Area's dome enveloped the entire city block. Netto looked up at the psychedelic hexagons with a raised eyebrow. "Jammer, uh? Didn't know it could mess up with the Dimensional Area to the point of not working…"

_That's not what I would worry about, human._

"Don't tell me," Netto paused and turned around to face the roof of the skyscraper with a dejected frown hidden behind the rim of his cloak. For a moment nothing happened, but then a shower of data came together to form into the very familiar enemy that he came to simply call "Paladin". "You…" the boy growled, clenching his fists.

Paladin smiled and morphed his right hand into a sword. "Kid," he murmured in greeting as he readied himself for an attack. "You either come with me willingly, or I'm afraid I'll have to force you."

Netto narrowed his eyes and snorted, shifting his cloak to let it rest at his back and forming two energy swords in his hands. "Then a fight it is. I have a better grasp on Forte's abilities, though, so you might want to leave us be."

The white armored navi's reply came in the form of a forward lunge and a swing of his sword, which Netto easily parried with one of his dark blades. The two struggled for a few seconds then the boy pushed his opponent away with ease.

Paladin's eyes narrowed as he righted himself and readied his sword for another assault. "Looks like you truly got better," he commented as his left arm formed into a shield. "Come, then. Let's not waste any more time in useless chit-chat!"

The tall navi lunged again, but unlike before, his speed had doubled and Netto had a hard time parrying his swipes and finding an opening past the shield to attack. Still fairly unused to Forte's Dark Arm Blades, the boy was forced to jump backwards and hover into the air.

"Let's try with this, then," he grumbled as he dispelled the swords and collected as much energy as he could in his hands in the smallest amount of time before the enemy decided to jump after him. When he decided that the two spheres were powered up enough, he hurled them against his opponent as he was about to leap at him.

The roof of the skyscraper exploded in a cloud of smoke and debris, obscuring Netto's visual of his enemy. He didn't let his guard down, however, and quickly reformed his swords and prepared himself for the next attack, which came like a lightning bolt.

Swords met in a shower of sparks, and, because flying and using his blades at the same time still required some level of concentration, Netto found himself loosing control of his hovering while Paladin violently pushed him towards the street below.

The crash was loud, shook the ground, rattled the windows and created a nicely sized crater in the cement. The boy, as much as winded he had became after such a landing, continued holding off his enemy's sword until he recollected himself enough to land a powerful kick on the white navi's abdomen, successfully hurling him away.

After struggling for a few seconds to stand up, Netto jumped out of the hole and gasped, squeezing his eyes for a second and bringing one hand to his mouth. "Man… I think I'm going to hurl my noodles…" He muttered, blinking and watching his opponent right himself.

_That was over three days ago!_

Despite the protest, Forte could actually feel his host's upset stomach. A very uncomfortable experience, he decided. Nothing like a headache, but very close to it. He had to give the young human some credits, though, because he was managing to keep the swords solid and his eyes glued to the white navi while forcing himself to not throw up.

"I know…" Netto replied as he forcefully subsided a fit and readied himself for Paladin's oncoming attack.

The three swords met once again and the two opponents engaged into a flurry of swipes, ducks and parries while they occasionally trampled any virus that had the misfortune to cross paths with them. With the larger ones, however, they were forced to jump away and break their swordfight. At one point Netto had seen Enzan cross fused with Blues dealing a heavy blow to a swarm of spiders.

"I got better with the swords," Netto muttered to himself as he landed back onto the ground after avoiding a giant Mettool. He narrowed his eyes onto Paladin's form on the other side of the street and watched as he surveyed a cut on his left shoulder guard. "But he is really something… all I managed was that scratch on his shoulder…"

Forte remained silent, miffed at the fact that their opponent was being so difficult to beat. _Just land a Darkness Overload on him and be done with that pathetic excuse for a navi, human._

Netto paused and blinked, then grinned widely from behind the rim of his cloak. "Now that's a brilliant idea," he whispered as he sprung into a run towards an equally running Paladin. The idea that had just been sparked by the black navi's words was insane, but it would finally bring the fight to an end.

When the boy met his opponent, instead of parrying the sword with one of his blades, he let it hit him on his left upper arm. Ignoring the searing pain from the gash he gained from the ignored attack, Netto grabbed the offending arm and held it steady so that his enemy would be unable to back away. "Got you!" he shouted as he kicked the shield away and brought his other hand up.

Instead of being armed with a blade, however, Netto was holding a fist sized sphere of crackling energy. Grinning widely and with a muttered "eat this", he thrust his hand forwards, hell bent on hitting his opponent right on the chest.

Although the devastating hit produced a lot of damage, Paladin had been fast enough to shift to the side enough to avoid deletion. Disentangling himself from Netto's grasp, the white navi backed away holding what was left of his left shoulder and side – his arm was completely missing – and regarded the boy with calculating eyes.

Netto was tired and panting, with a large gash on his upper left arm that bled and had some data dematerialized around it, but he was far from being beaten. "You…" Paladin muttered, wincing as more data dematerialized from his wound with each movement he did. "I didn't expect this out of you…"

Before the boy could recover enough to finish his opponent, the white navi disappeared into a shower of data, soon followed by all the viruses crawling through the city. "So he was the one keeping the viruses materialized in the real world…"

_That was an insane plan,_ Forte commented with voice strangely neutral. _You are insane. Getting hit on purpose to create an opening and blast that sorry excuse for a navi point blank, _he paused and chuckled, feeling an odd thrill of excitement. _A suicidal tactic, but it worked._

Before Netto could reply, however, four objects appeared out of the ground all around him. They looked like Dimensional Area converters, but instead of being blue they were green and pulsed with a kind of energy that gave him a migraine.

"What the…"

The whatever-they-were came to life and the boy felt his body being seized by crackling energy. Suddenly feeling powerless, he was lifted a few feet into the air and no matter how much he tried, he was firmly held there.

"A… a trap…" he gasped out, feeling all his energy being sucked away. "They… they almost sacrificed their best navi just to lure us… in a trap…"

Within his mind, Forte wasn't having an easier time. He growled and struggled to keep his consciousness as far away from the odd energy as he could. _This energy… it's the same we found in Amerope…_

"I am not… going…" Netto took a deep breath and concentrated, letting his consciousness reach Forte's. Instantly he felt the huge amount of energy swelling behind the mental wall he had created to keep it at bay, waiting to be released. "To let them lay their hands on us."

And release it he did.

The energy rushed unchecked, swallowing and overpowering them until it manifested itself outside their shared body into a flaming aura of dark energy. The converters, not being able to withstand all that power, exploded with a loud boom, freeing Netto and Forte from their clutches.

Once out of danger, but mostly because they were exhausted, the aura disappeared and the boy collapsed to the ground face first. It took him several seconds to regain consciousness and wobbly haul himself to his feet, wincing at the dizziness and the already forming migraine.

"Note to self," he muttered as he staggered awkwardly in a random direction in search of medical supplies and a quiet place to rest. "Use that only as a very last resort…"

.

* * *

.

"So, not only they can appear in the real world without the presence of a Dimensional Area, but they also can jam the creation of one."

Enzan nodded as he stood in front of Dr. Hikari, Commander Kifune, his assistant Manabe and Mejin. They were in a conference room at SciLabs and they were having an emergency meeting regarding the latest criminal act against humanity. Rockman had been sent to Netto's friends to ask for help in nearing one of the agents Blues had seen once in the net.

Yuichiro sighed and sat down on one of the many chair around the oval table. He rubbed at his face and let his arms rest on top of the wooden surface in front of him. "And on top of that, Forte is involved too and seems to have the same ability to appear in the real world at will."

The white haired boy nodded briefly before frowning. "He seems against this new group, though," he supplied. "From what we saw, these navi want Forte to either join their cause or give them something."

"Enzan-sama," Blues called from his PET resting on the table. "I compared the energy of those converters to the one we found on that cliff in Amerope. It is the same. Apparently, they have been after him for at least a week, if not more. However, I don't understand why Netto was there if the place was set up to capture Forte."

Frowning, the boy fished in his pocket and took out the small pebble he had grabbed from that cliff and that he had conserved all the way home. "Dr. Hikari," he called as he showed the pebble to the man, deciding that it was time to tell them what he knew. "Roughly a week ago I received a postcard telling me to go to a cliff in Amerope. There I found this and the place had a leftover of the same energy we have seen today."

Yuichiro looked up at the boy, surprised at the revelation, then grabbed the pinkish pebble in his hand and examined the symbol on it. "Netto? What… why would Netto be there? So far away from home? His last mission was just in Central City, and that is an hour of car from here…"

Enzan didn't know why or how his friend had ended up on the other side of the planet. "The handwriting is Netto's," he said as he used his PET to display an image of the back of the postcard he had received. "Rockman can confirm it."

Taking some time to recollect and reassure himself that his son was still alive, only missing, Yuichiro returned his attention on the symbol scribbled on the flat rock and frowned. "I know this," he said with a frown.

The white haired boy nodded and used the monitor on one of the walls to display all the information he had found on it. "It was MedTech's symbol. Osamu Michiro owned the company, which closed for bankruptcy six years ago. He escaped capture by the police," he paused and let some of the text scroll down on the screen. "MedTech was partnered with IPC and had ties with SciLabs."

"Ah, yes!" Yuichiro exclaimed as he placed the pebble on the table and went to a computer located on a desk near the same wall the monitor was mounted on. "MedTech. Now I remember it. It used to do medical research for rare or still incurable illnesses. They used to come to us for certain machinery they needed or for the occasional tip on how to better carry out a test."

He started to type on the keyboard with a speed that was rarely matched, bringing up old data and showing it on the monitor on the wall. "I don't know what kind of research they used to do, but many results actually improved certain cures. I was sad when Michiro was found guilty of diverting money from the research to whatever he used it for…"

Kifune sighed, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Are we sure this company, or what is left of it, is involved in the recent crimes?" he asked slightly doubtful.

Yuichiro frowned slightly as he gazed at the large screen. "No, I'm not sure if it's involved," he replied truthfully. "But Netto dragged Enzan all the way to Amerope for this, so I'm willing to follow this track."

The commander and his assistant briefly looked at each other and nodded. "Netto would never willingly send us a fake clue on whatever is happening," the woman spoke gently but firmly. "I will check this out and talk with those who worked on the case six years ago."

Dismissing the meeting, Kifune and Manabe left the room closely followed by Enzan. Mejin, however, stopped next to Yuichiro and placed a hand onto his shoulder. "He'll be fine," he said, giving a light squeeze and smiling to reassure his friend. "He can take care of himself."

Dr. Hikari nodded. "I know that," he said with a faint smile. "Sometimes he's brash, but he can definitively take care of himself."

.

* * *

.

Unknown to the two scientists, however, said boy was hiding in an old clock tower. Too tired to even lift a finger, he was currently laying on the wooden floor on his back and using his cloak as a pillow. The gash on his upper left arm had been bandaged as best as he could and, thankfully, had at least stopped bleeding copiously. The migraine he had, however, was much, much worse than the burning pain from his wound.

Since they were both within the same brain, Forte was suffering as much as he was and was keeping quiet to avoid pointless jolts of pain brought by his voice. He was used to quietly wait in the darkness, finding the action to be restoring, but as much as he tried to rest, sleep or even lose consciousness, the pain was too distracting. He just hoped that the painkiller his human host had taken in a doubled dose would work sooner than later.

Closing his eyes to ward off the painful dim light, Netto remained motionless where he was and waited for sleep to claim him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Ok, this chapter is NOT my fault. Netto and the others just dragged me along with their plan for it. *cough* So yeah, the angsty stuff I had planned for them will have to wait…

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az.

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* * *

.

After sleeping for over twenty four hours, Netto woke up in a cold sweat and tangled up in his cloak. He couldn't remember the dream he had, or if he had one at all, but he could clearly remember the fear and pain it brought.

Slowly sitting up and massaging his forehead to ward off the dull ache, the boy looked at his surroundings. The dusty room in the clock tower was as he had left it last time he remembered being awake, with the clock ticking rhythmically to his right and the used medical kit to his left.

"Forte…?" he asked in a whisper, not wanting to disturb his companion or reawaken his migraine. "You still here?"

_What is it?_

Forte sounded exhausted, just like him, and in no mood to be angry. "Just wondering if you were still alive," Netto replied as he folded his cloak back into a pillow of some sort and returned laying down. The fins on the helmet were cool looking, but they were a huge hassle when he wanted to sleep on his back, forcing him to turn his head to the side.

The black navi scoffed. _Why would you care, human? I'm your enemy. I hate you. I want to kill you._

Netto rolled on his right side and gently scratched at his left upper arm. The blood had dried and the gauze had become attached to his wound, making it itch. He would have to change the dressing, but not now. He was still too tired to worry.

"You might be my enemy and you might want to kill me," Netto replied, yawning and curling up as tightly as he could. "But that doesn't mean that I won't worry. You're stuck with me, and no matter how much hate and anger you feel for me and my kind, I'd still feel bad if you died on me before we solved this mess…"

_You disgust me, human,_ Forte replied, oddly unable to feel real disdain for his human host. _Everything of you disgusts me. I hate it. Hate it with all myself._

He wasn't sure why he was still talking with the human boy, nor why he continued repeating that he hated him and his stupid ideals so much. There was no need to prove that to himself, nor to the kid, whom had been reminded several times in the past already.

Slowly stretching onto the dusty ground, Netto sighed heavily and sat up once again. "Stop all this hate, Forte," he said softly as he grabbed his folded cloak and let it fall around his neck and shoulders. "I'm not saying to become buddy-buddy with me and my friends, but at least… I don't know… find a hobby and live your life."

_I thought we already went through this issue last week, human._

Knowing that he had cornered the black navi and he had scratched at his defenses, Netto hummed to himself and dropped the issue. Perhaps he was being too curious and friendly for his own good, but that was who he was. He'd rather be friends with someone than hate their guts. At most, all he could do was to have a heated rivalry…

The boy turned his gaze onto the clock and watched the gears spin until his stomach growled loudly. "I want curry," he declared to no one in particular. It had been so long since he last ate some good curry, and although he seemed to not need as much food and water as he usually needed, the last time he had gotten something in his stomach had been four days ago. It was time to hunt for food.

"We don't have money on us, do we?"

Forte snorted lightly. _I'm not a bank account, human. And I have no use for money. To me, it's just another useless human creation,_ he paused and, for a reason he couldn't understand, he searched his persona for any money anyway. _If I need something, I just take it._

"Forte," Netto almost whined and let his shoulders slump. "I'm not a thief. I can't just go out there and get things without paying. It's wrong!"

_Then you would die because of that stupid ideal, human?_

The boy stood up and floated towards the hatch on the ground that led downstairs. After learning how to fly, he had found that moving that way was much easier than walking, not to mention that he was still sore from the fight of the previous day. "Look, I know it makes no sense to you," he said as he landed, crouched down and opened the lid with his good arm. "But the world has rules that people have to follow or life would be impossible. Navi share a lot of these rules too, and I bet that even the Undernet has its own set."

Before Forte could reply, however, Netto sighed and floated down through the hatch. "But you have a point there, I need food, and I have no money," he conceded as he started to slowly descend down the length of the tower. "And I can't go home like this. Mom is going to have a heart attack…"

Playing with one of the two scarf-like strands of cloth hanging from his neck, Netto thought at where he could go to find food. With home ruled out and SciLabs off-limits until he spoke directly with his father, the only other place that he could go to without having to deal with too many people milling about was Yaito's secret hideout.

The large tree-house, although security was tight, was used only when he and his friends needed a place to meet, making it a perfect hideout. On top of that, the fridge was always filled with the best stuff and the cabinet always had a topnotch first aid kit.

_It's still light out,_ Forte's words woke the boy up from his thoughts that were slowly directing themselves to curry. _Going out now is… not a good idea…_

Netto smiled and tilted his head slightly to the side. "Worried, Forte?" he chuckled as he felt the navi's indignation explode at the verbal jab. "Aw, stop that. I won't tell anyone! Really!"

_I am __**not**__ worried, you despicable human!_ the navi hissed furiously with, Netto decided, a probably red face. _I just don't want to deal with those sorry excuses for navis that are so bent in getting their filthy hands on me!_

The boy lightly landed on the ground and became serious. "You're worried. Alright," he commented before he reached the door of the clock tower and peeked outside. Apparently, after yesterday's materialization of viruses, the officials had issued some sort of curfew or people had just decided that going out was suicidal. Either way, the deserted streets would only make his life easier.

Tying the two long strands of cloth behind his neck and letting his cloak envelop him, the boy opened the door and, after a final check to make sure no one was really around, he left the safety of the tower.

He floated gently through the streets, looking left and right at all the damage the virus attack had done. "Man… look at this…" he muttered as he rounded a corner. "The attack did more damage than I thought…"

_Destruction is everything you deserve, human,_ Forte commented idly as he kept his senses on full alert. He wasn't worried about encountering that Paladin guy since they had dealt him an almost fatal wound, but he wasn't ready to get caught by those green converters again. Especially not that soon.

Netto floated past a wrecked car, briefly glancing at it before he focused on the path ahead. "What makes you think that we deserve complete destruction?"

The black navi took several seconds to think. _You have nothing good in you, human,_ he eventually said, voice soft but firm. _You are deceitful and want nothing more than to use everything and everyone for your own good, no matter how wrong it is for your own standards and rules,_ he paused and felt anger and hate swell up inside him. _And what you don't need anymore or find that it threatens you, you destroy._

Netto landed in the middle of the road and lowered his head. Forte's explanation for his hate made sense, but the boy knew that not everyone was like that. There were a lot of people out in the world that cared for certain things more than their own life, like Mariko-sensei, his teacher. She would do anything to help the kids she was entrusted with every day. And his parents and friends too. They were always there when he needed them.

Having nothing to say and knowing that Forte would just ignore any attempt to defend his race, Netto silently resumed floating through the streets while keeping his senses on full alert. Like the navi, he wasn't worried about having another run in with Paladin, or even his friends, but his presence in the open would still draw unwanted attention.

And attention came several minutes later in the form of several humans tailing him and failing miserably at keeping themselves hidden from his enhanced senses.

_I still don't understand why you decided to walk in daylight when we're being hunted…_

"I was tired of hiding and there is no way that Paladin is coming out after that blow we dealt him," he replied as he continued to calmly float through the city as if nothing was happening. He then smiled slyly as his eyes caught sight of a long and tall fence with a hole in it. "Besides, oh… you are going to _love_ this, Forte."

The navi paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow at that. Oddly, those words had piqued his interest. _Love what, human?_

Netto's eyes narrowed and the sly smile became a wide, almost insane grin. "Just you wait, Forte. Just you wait…" he supplied as he flew above the fence and entered the immense garden belonging to the Ayanokouji family.

Staying safe into the air high enough to avoid any trap but low enough to avoid detection from the mansion, the boy quickly made his way through the trees. He expertly avoided the searching gaze of the cameras and all the laser sensors present everywhere on the property until he reached his destination.

As he had expected, the tree-house wasn't used at the moment. All he had to do was enter his security code in the panel next to the door and he would have full access without any alarm going off. "Curry, here I come!"

With a large smile, Netto flew to the door, punched in the password and disappeared into the safety of the small house. Rubbing his hands, he flipped a switch on the wall and watched as a large 3D monitor and several console appeared on the other side of the room, and as he suspected, the first thing to appear on the display was the root menu of the main system.

After quickly grabbing and heating up a bowl of curry, the boy flopped onto the couch in front of the monitor and grabbed a remote. "Let's see how they are doing," he commented with a grin as he navigated to the security camera feeds and brought them up.

Several images appeared, showing shots from the entire property. Most of them had nothing interesting in it, but with a command from the remote he was holding, four images were enlarged and brought to the front.

"Looks like we're on time for the show," Netto commented as he placed the remote onto the couch next to him and grabbed a spoon. On the monitor, he could see several men and women silently trudging through Yaito's garden, unaware of the cameras watching them. Everything was quiet for a long while, but that only helped in building the excitement the boy was feeling.

_I don't see anything that I would lo---_

Forte was interrupted as a scream coming from the speakers filled the air. Glancing at the upper left image, both spectators watched as two men were showered with powerful jets of water coming from several hoses hidden in innocent-looking fountain statues. The two unfortunates were thrown from their feet and landed against a small wall only to be kept there by the flowing water.

Oddly entertained by the unusual show, both navi and human watched as three men and a woman found themselves cornered by several mechanical animals in the lower right image. Three other unfortunate souls meet their demise in an ensnaring net that let them swing from a tall tree.

"Oh, wait, this is the best part!" Netto commented as he enlarged the right upper image to full screen. One single man, the last 'survivor' of the bunch, carefully made his way through a meadow, gun in hand and turning his head left and right. Although he was wearing sunglasses, the boy could clearly see that he had a very worried expression.

The man then paused in his walking and watched towards his left with a terrified expression on his face just before he turned to his right and fled as fast as he could. The camera followed his movements and the two could see that he was running from several small and loud contraptions.

_Are those…_

Forte was speechless as he watched an armed - and probably trained to kill – human run in circles chased by a bunch of lawnmowers and screaming in pure terror. He observed as the man was literally herded by the infernal machines through the entire meadow, several bushes, some _rose_ bushes and a tennis court, where he was nailed by several tennis balls, until, exhausted, he collapsed to the ground and was run over by the lawnmowers.

"That gotta hurt…" Netto commented as he finished his curry and grabbed a marker from the table in front of him. "But hey, that's what you get when you enter Yaito's property without invitation."

_Are those…_

The boy grinned and watched as the trampled man struggled away from the deactivated machines only to be caught by a large metallic cage a few seconds later. "Yup. Yaito-chan's lawnmowers of DOOM. Learn to fear them!" he replied before laughing loudly.

Mood considerably lightened by the 'show', Netto floated to the cabinet, grabbed a first aid kit under his right arm and, still holding the scribbled bowl in his left hand, left the tree-house.

.

* * *

.

He had to admit it. Yaito Ayanokouji's house was impressive. With a mansion as large as a palace and with an even larger garden, Enzan was surprised that the young girl hadn't gotten lost already. Maybe it had something to do with having lived all her life in that place, he decided.

Ignoring the unusual hole in the fence, the boy walked up to the gate and pressed the bell button, instantly getting a response out of it. The voice was stoic and clear, and to some it would have been unnerving.

"Enzan Ijuin, official NetBattler," he replied as he held up his PET and displayed the badge to the camera. "I've been called here to deal with some trespassers…"

To tell the truth, Enzan had absolutely no clue why he was called to deal with a simple case of trespassing, but Yaito had insisted so much for him to be sent that the police had no other choice than to give in to her demands.

"Miss Ayanokouji has been waiting for you, Mr. Ijuin," the voice replied just before a butler appeared in front of the gate from seemingly nowhere. "Please, follow me to the mansion."

Enzan stared at the man with a raised eyebrow, recognizing his voice to be the same one that had come from the intercom. Was the man living inside the pillar housing the doorbell? Coughing and dismissing the image of a butler crammed inside a stone structure and answering to anyone that came for a visit, the boy followed the man through the gate, a very long driveway covered in pearly white pebbles and into the mansion.

There, Yaito greeted him with a smile and dismissed the butler with a wave of her hand. "Enzan," she said. "I'm glad you came. There is something you have to see."

Her smile faded and she motioned for him to follow her lead. "As the police probably told you, earlier today we had people trespassing. They were all caught by the security system and we have handed almost all of them the police…" she paused and frowned. "Well, one of the butlers found a message on one of these guys so we decided to keep him here until you came."

She opened one of the many doors and walked inside the room with her secret crush tailing behind her. Enzan narrowed his eyes at the unconscious man laying onto the bed in front of him. He was so bandaged that he reminded him of a mummy…

Not catching the boy's perplexed expression, Yaito walked to the side and grabbed something from a desk. "I can't make any sense out of it," she said as she turned around and held out a bowl for Enzan to take. "But maybe you have a clue on who left this."

The white haired NetBattler grabbed the offered item and examined it. The inside was dirty with curry and on the outside rim there was a scribbled message that read 'a gift for Enzan' in a very familiar handwriting.

"Blues," he spoke as he took out his PET. "Call the NetPolice, have them move this man to a secure location for interrogation. Netto just sent us another clue to the puzzle."

Replacing the PET back to his belt and holding the bowl in his hand, Enzan looked up at Yaito with a confused expression. "What happened to this man?" he was not going to believe that Netto had done this to the poor guy.

The girl blushed and adverted her eyes somewhere else than the boy standing in front of her. "Oh, that… well, it was the lawnmowers…"

At those words, Enzan felt a cold shiver run down his back.

.

* * *

.

--(Random cutouts time!)—

The boy grinned and watched as the trampled man struggled away from the deactivated machines only to be caught by a large metallic cage a few seconds later. "Yup. Yaito-chan's lawnmowers of DOOM. Learn to fear them!" he replied before laughing loudly.

Forte grinned madly. _I __**want**__ one of those!_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Ahem, moment of insanity over, let's go back to being serious. Somewhat.

**Also, if you're reading this,** be warned that Forte will be a bit more quiet and to himself. Why? Well, someone left me a review that made me think and realize that Forte was being a bit… off, I suppose. I'll try to correct the past mistakes without upsetting the story (after all, this is still an experiment and I never aimed to be perfect. I'm aiming to improve and get a better grasp on the characters' real personality).

Also, the "Forte's chattiness with Netto" thing. There is a reason behind it that I'll explain later in the fic.

And yeah, I don't regret writing the Lawnmowers of DOOM idea. It is something Netto would do and enjoy watching (dragging Forte along since they are stuck together) and the show actually showed Netto and Dekao being followed by one once, and I'm trying to go along with the anime's example of having serious episodes broken up with funny and rather insensate ones. So yeah, this chapter will be a serious one, but in the future there will be lighter chapters again.

**Also**, thanks to Mistrevar (DA)/Zephyra Cobalt () for helping me through the block I encountered in this chapter and letting me have a better insight on Forte than I already had

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az.

.

* * *

.

The next night, Netto was standing on top of one of the circular buildings in front of SciLabs and, as always, his father was still in his lab doing who-knows-what work or research. Probably something about the recent materialization of viruses and hostile NetNavis.

All the other scientists had left for home a long time ago, leaving the structure empty save for the occasional guard and those who had to tend to experiments that couldn't be stopped. It was the perfect time to enter and have a talk to his father without being shot on sight.

Forte had started to be uncharacteristically on edge since they had reached the labs, but for the life of him, the black navi was being tight lipped on the reasons for his reluctance to be there. Still, Netto had caught wisps of confused emotions that had held him where he was. He wanted to go inside and talk to his father so much and reassure him that he was alive and well, but at the same time he wanted to respect his grouchy partner's feelings. Whatever they were.

"I want to go," he said after a while and knowing that Forte was silently wondering why he hadn't moved. "But we're stuck together and I just can't ignore you. And you know what? I know that you don't want to go there."

Forte didn't reply at first, but the boy felt the navi's presence shift in uncertainty. _Why?_

The simple question he was asked made Netto frown. "Why I'm not ignoring you?" he paused and shrugged. "It doesn't feel right… especially since we share the same body. You feel what I feel and I feel what you feel, remember? To some extent, anyway…"

The black navi didn't reply. He actually seemed to not even pay too much attention to him or the world that was around them and that made Netto straighten his stance and deepen his frown. "Forte?" he asked, trying to regain his partner's full attention. "Hey, Forte? Are you still here with me?"

He could faintly feel that the navi's emotions were in turmoil and it confused him because, beside showing anger and hate, Forte had always been calm and collected in his own way, even if a bit more talkative than usual. Now, amid the edginess, he could feel impatience, reluctance and several other emotions that were too fleeting to be understood.

_What are you doing, human?_ Forte eventually hissed. _Just go in already and be done with this._

For a moment Netto had the impression that the navi was feeling like a cornered animal and the 'buzz' he was receiving from him wasn't helping matters at all. Rubbing a hand to his forehead right under the helmet, he jumped from the structure and landed onto the ground below. "Alright, alright! I'm going!"

Still rubbing his forehead to ward off an incoming headache, the boy started to walk towards the main building of SciLabs while muttering to himself at how life was unfair to him. He was almost to the glass doors of the entrance when colors suddenly shifted from normal to psychedelic.

Stopping and looking up at the sky, Netto gritted his teeth as the characteristic dome of the Dimensional Area enveloped the entire building complex where his father worked. "We've been caught…" he muttered. He had been stupid, he realized, to walk towards SciLabs in the open and not expect to alert security. Especially since he was looking like Forte…

Turning his eyes downwards again, he watched as several showers of data came together to form dozens upon dozens of official navis and Elite guards. They were armed to the teeth and looked like they weren't there to talk with him.

"It's been over ten years, Forte," one of them said raising his electric sword. "But you finally came back for your revenge…"

Netto paused and observed the navis through his fingers while a sudden dread filled his mind. He watched them surround him, weapons raised and trained at him and ready to attack. Forte, not sneering and insulting for once, was emanating a strong vibe of what he could describe as "fight to survive and then go as far away as possible".

A vibe so strong that further distracted and confused him, forcing him to take a step backwards and wince at the mental pain. Struggling to maintain his eyes on the navis surrounding him, Netto raised a hand into the air with the intent of showing that he meant no harm.

The gesture, however, was interpreted in the wrong way. "He's going to attack!" one to his left shouted, jumping towards him with his electric sword in front of him. "Quick! Delete him! We can't let him destroy SciLabs!"

Still holding his head with a hand, Netto sidestepped to the left to avoid being cut by the sword, and then jumped above the path of a cannon's shot. "W…wait!"

But his voice was weak against the roar of the battle he had unwillingly found himself into and all he could do was to avoid being killed while he continued to deal with the increasing headache and buzzing. "For…te…" he gasped out as he avoided more sword attacks. "What's… happening?"

Realizing that their enemy was distracted and keeping on the defensive, the large group of navis pressed in their collective attack, forcing Netto to materialize a Dark Arm Blade in his free hand and parry any swipes that he could not dodge.

For a while he seemed to be able to keep all the attacks at bay and even land a crippling hit on one of his enemies, but when one of them managed to scrape at his chest, very close to Forte's navi emblem, things just went downhill for him.

Suddenly his vision became blurred and his thoughts became so unclear that he didn't understand anymore where his emotions ended and Forte's started. Panic spread like a plague and Netto found himself attacking back with violence, roaring in anger at each swing aimed to delete instead of wounding.

Fleeting voices and snippets of images crossed his mind and made him stagger in his attack pattern and retreat to a safe distance to grip at his head with both hands. A move that didn't go unnoticed by his opponents, whom only increased their efforts to get rid of him. One of them lunged forwards with his electric sword at the stunned and unmoving enemy and hit him on his right side, tearing a large gash on both flesh and cloak.

The surge of electricity shook Netto out of his stupor and the boy jumped away again, clutching at his side and feeling the loss of data and the blood run past his fingers and down his hip and leg. The cut wasn't deep, just like the one on his arm, but it stung and forced him to slightly lean on his right.

That was when the boundaries of his mind broke and Forte's consciousness became his for a fraction of a second. That, however, was enough to let him feel the black navi's insane amount of anger and hate like it was his. "That's it," he growled as he unconsciously lifted himself into the air and collected a large amount of energy around himself. "_Begone._"

The following explosion not only blew the front of SciLabs to dust and deleted any navi unfortunate enough to be close enough, but it also took away the overpowering emotions, leaving the confused Netto with a lingering feeling of emotional pain.

Finally separating himself from Forte's consciousness enough to realize what he had done but not enough to discern what his true feelings were, the boy observed all the damage he had done. The front of the building was gone and the few navis that had survived were either laying unconscious or looking at him in pure terror.

"Monster…" one of them whispered loudly enough for Netto to hear. "Cossack should have never created you…"

Netto – or was he Forte? He wasn't sure anymore – felt a cold feeling pervade his body and he reacted to it by raising his right arm and point his open hand towards the navi that had spoken. Wordlessly, he accumulated enough energy to blast the offender to deletion, but when he was ready, he paused and frowned, tilting his head to the side. Part of him wanted to delete the navi in front of him, but another part of him didn't want to.

And then, as suddenly as it came, it ended. Boundaries reformed and Netto was himself again. Gone were the overwhelming emotions and the pain, replaced with the lingering feeling that they were gone only from his mind, but that they still existed somewhere else. He was confused and all he remembered at the moment was that he had been walking towards SciLabs to talk to his father…

Not entirely understanding why he was right in the middle of destruction, he took a step backwards and winced, almost collapsing to the ground before he started to instinctively float to lessen the pain. His confused gaze moved from the navi in front of him to the wound on his right side and some recollection of what had just happened came back to him in a rush.

His memories of the fight were few, blurry and confused, but those were enough to make him sick and scared. Enveloping himself into the feeble safety of his cloak, Netto followed the only clear command his confused mind was telling him to do and turned around to leave.

That was when those green converters appeared out of nowhere. Again.

Tired and wounded, and with Forte strangely absent to tell him that he had picked up their particular signature with his scanner, Netto could do nothing to avoid being caught in the middle of six converters. Energy surged around and through his body, sucking away all the energy he had left in it, leaving him to struggle with only his failing physical strength.

"How lucky…"

Brown eyes narrowed as a figure appeared from the shadows of one of the converters. It was another tall navi, this time a ninja type that had no recognizable features beside the emblem with the symbol of the fist holding a light, which was the same as Paladin's, on his chest. It was dressed in a plain black suit and had his head enveloped in a black cloth, leaving visible only his yellow eyes.

"I have to admit that it was hard to follow you without being caught," he said as he reached the downed navi that had previously insulted Forte and finished him off by stabbing his emblem with a long and thin sword. "I had to keep a good distance from you, or I would have been discovered. Luckily," he motioned to the downed group of law enforcers with a wave of his hand. "These idiots mistook your arrival for an attack. That was my chance to get closer and place another trap for you to walk into."

Netto growled and forced his right arm up, collecting as much energy as he could. "It won't work. These converters have been built to withstand more energy than the last did," 'Ninja' commented, almost bored by the antics of the boy.

What he didn't foresee, however, was that Netto manipulated the last of his energy into a long and thin spear before hurling it at one of the converters. After years of battles, the boy knew that if a blast couldn't take something out, then a slash would do the job, and as he had expected, the spear was only slowed down a fraction before it pierced the green surface and nailed the machine to the ground, dissolving into the air once its task had been carried out.

That was all he could do, however, and Netto soon found himself losing consciousness. "That was impressive, kid. The one you named Paladin wasn't kidding when he said that you had a really quick thinking," he heard the ninja navi say before darkness claimed his senses.

.

* * *

.

Unable to enter the Dimensional Area in time to do something, Enzan stopped where the wounded security navis were laying and watched as five of the six green converter-like machines floated up into the night sky and disappeared, taking with them an unconscious Forte.

"You must be Enzan Ijuin and Blues…"

Azure eyes hidden by a visor looked away from the now empty sky to gaze upon a ninja-type navi that he had previously missed. "And you are…?" he asked warily, moving into a defensive position. After seeing Forte fight against that other white navi, he wasn't going to underestimate whoever associated themselves with this new terrorist group.

"Our operator never named us, but…" the tall navi paused and chuckled in amusement. "Seeing as your friend named Paladin by his aspect, he would probably call me 'Ninja'. And as much as unoriginal as it sounds, that's what I am and I find myself liking the name."

At the mention of a friend, Enzan straightened a fraction in his stance. "Friend? Are you talking about Netto?" his right hand morphed into a sword and he shifted from a defensive position to one of attack. "Tell me where he is!"

Ninja crossed his arms and leaned onto his right leg. "I wouldn't worry about him if I was in you," he said as he snapped his fingers and several Undernet viruses appeared. "But if you want to know, he's fine. For the moment…"

With a motion of his hand, the viruses attacked anything or anyone that stood in front of them. Mostly it was SciLabs, but some where crawling towards Enzan. "Interesting this Dimensional Area," the black navi said looking up at the dome. "But it is outdated, don't you think? Without it, your Cross Fusion will be cancelled and you will be powerless against even the weakest of viruses…"

Widening his eyes in shock, the boy turned around and watched as two spider viruses climbed the wall towards the four parabolic antennas on the main building of SciLabs. Even if those antennas weren't what powered the Dimensional Area, they were the means to transmit the energy from the generators to the needed location, and if they were destroyed, the dome would not receive the needed energy to maintain itself active.

Giving a brief glance at the black navi, whom saluted him with a wave of his finger and disappeared, Enzan cursed under his breath and jumped after the two spiders, quickly deleting them and saving the machinery on the roof. After securing the location, the boy looked around the building and winced. The place was literally crawling with viruses.

"Blues," he said as he summoned a second sword on his other arm. "Send a message to Dr. Hikari. Tell him to send someone, anyone, up here with a Gate Chip. We'll need all the help we can get if we want to keep these viruses off from the Dimensional Area's transmitters."

_Yes, Enzan-sama._

While Blues took a few seconds to send the request to the right person, the boy sliced an Undernet virus in half before it could land its hands on the devices he was protecting. He had no problems in dealing with all these enemies on his own, but if he moved from where he was to go after some other virus, the place would be left unprotected.

Another virus came, this time one of those statues holding a sword, but before he could engage the enemy, it was blasted to deletion by a purple shot. Glancing up, Enzan found himself raising an eyebrow as Rockman landed next to him.

"I'll keep the antennas safe," he said as he readied his Rock Buster and deleted another virus that attempted a sneak attack on him. "You go and take care of the others. Even if I'm not with Netto, I can still deal with these."

The smile was fake, the white haired boy noticed, but he nodded nonetheless and jumped back onto the ground below, starting to delete any virus that crossed his path. Although he knew that Rockman wasn't as strong as he would be while in a Cross Fusion, he firmly believed that the blue navi could take care of anything the viruses threw at him.

Taking a sharp turn to the right, he ran after the closest bunch of viruses and dedicated his next ten minutes or so in deleting any virus he met. Halfway through his deleting spree, he had seen that the help Blues had called for had arrived and the bunch of sleep deprived scientists and guards had taken a stance either on top of SciLabs to help Rockman or in front of the gaping hole in the main building that Forte had caused to fend off any digital creature that tried to gain access.

When he and Blues were done, Enzan jumped back on top of the main building and watched as the tired men and women trudged back inside to either collapse on the first available soft surface or to go back to tending their experiments. Rockman walked up to him and greeted him with a smile, his Rock Buster morphing back to his hand.

"You ok?"

Enzan nodded and dismissed a faint scratch on his right arm as a mere itch. "Yes. Bad news is," he paused and frowned, glancing up at the dome as it started to disappear. "They have Netto too."

Rockman's face darkened into a mask of determination and his hands curled into fists. "Then we'll have to get him back," he commented before he was forced to go back to SciLabs' net at the same time Enzan's Cross Fusion was cancelled.

"Question is," the boy said to the air. "Where do they keep him?"

"Enzan-sama," Blues called from his PET, which was brought up so that navi and operator could see each other face to face. "I have the suspicion that if we find Forte, we find Netto."

The boy hummed as he followed the last of the scientists back inside SciLabs. Blue's idea made sense because malevolent organizations had a tendency to keep all their prized 'possessions' in one place for an easier access, and from what Ninja had told him, Netto had encountered them more than once and had been at least in one place where they had tried to capture the infamous 'Black Shadow'.

"It's possible."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Remember, this is **not** betaed, so expect errors and odd phrases even if I do reread the chapter before I post it.

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az.

.

* * *

.

The first thing that Forte noticed when he regained consciousness was that he was back to being in control of his own body. The second thing was that he couldn't move and the third was that he was being held firm by several cables wrapped around his body in a way similar to that Regal had used on him and Rockman.

Trying to remember how he had ended up in that situation and feeling rather irked for not being able to get out of the tangled mess he was in no matter what he did, the black navi looked at his surroundings.

The place was the desert of the Undernet, but there was something off coming from it that told him that the location was merely a reproduction of the real thing. Looking at the cables holding him, he noticed that half of them were coming out of the ground while the other half was hanging from somewhere high up in the black sky.

Nothing moved.

Except that plume of dust in the far distance to his left.

Still not knowing why he was hanging in a mass of cables in the middle of the copy of the Undernet Desert, Forte dedicated his time into freeing himself. Task that proved itself to be harder than he had thought since after around half a hour later he had managed to just get his right arm out.

Grunting, he grabbed at one of the cables hanging from the sky and yanked at it with all his strength, wanting to tear it away from whatever it was holding it up. The only result his action had, however, was that the cable he was holding, instead of snapping, coiled around his forearm and immobilized it.

And that wasn't the end of it either. More tendrils grew from the main cable and snaked down the entire length of his arm and around his neck and face, almost blocking his sight. Coupled with the fact that he seemed to be unable to summon any of his energy, things weren't looking bright.

Stopping his struggling and letting his eyes scan his surroundings again, Forte noticed that the cloud of dust he had seen earlier was closer. It was still quite far away, but judging from how much distance it had covered while he had been busy with the cables, he guessed that it wouldn't take more than two or three hours for it to reach him.

His eyes narrowed at the flying dust. For a brief moment, he had felt something coming from that direction, as if someone was calling for his attention. But if had been brief, and dismissing it as an annoying joke of whatever place he was in, he resumed fighting his way out of the cables.

_Forte…_

Eyes widening in surprise at the faint call, he turned to look at the moving dust and realized that it was much, much closer than before, meaning that he had been wrestling with his bindings for more than he had thought.

_Forte..!_

Forte knew that voice. He had been stuck with its owner for too long to forget the bright tone belonging to that human boy.

_I'm coming!_

Raising an eyebrow, the black navi watched as a figure came close enough for him to see it. It was still hard to make out who it was because of all the dust and the mirages the heat of the ground created, but Forte could make out that it was clad in black and that it was running. However, it wasn't long before he was watching a copy of himself waving at him with a tired but happy smile.

_Forte! I finally found you! _Netto declared as he took a jump and tackled the bundle of cables the navi was stuck in. _You have absolutely no idea how long I have been looking for you in this insane place!_

Without hesitation, the boy plunged his hands into the mass of cables surrounding the black navi and started to fish around for something. Instantly, the wires came to life and started to curl around his body to stop him. _Man, what's up with megalomaniacs and tentacles?_

"What are you doing?"

_Saving you,_ Netto answered as a cable coiled around his neck and tried to pry him from where he was. _It should be here… ah!_

What Forte felt was something being yanked away from his chest, and looking down he noticed that the human was holding up several small wires that writhed for a few seconds before going limp. The cables holding them up into the air became inert and flopped onto the ground, taking with them both human and navi.

Emerging from the mass of cables, Forte looked down at the boy as he struggled to right himself. "You have a few things to explain to me, human," he growled as he grabbed the kid by the neck and hauled him up so that he could watch him in the eyes.

_I don't think it's the right time for that, Forte,_ Netto replied as he pointed at the direction he had come from. _Ugly's coming and, trust me on this, you don't want to go near it without your powers._

Red eyes followed the indicated direction and the navi noticed that Netto hadn't been the one producing it. The thing would only surface for a brief moment every so often, but he could clearly see that it was huge. Even more than Nebula Gray had been.

Slightly darker than the sand it sunk into, the beast was a giant worm with two fins at its sides and a shark-like head. After resurfacing again, the exceptionally large virus opened its mouth and displayed countless rows of needle-like teeth, resealing hundreds of smaller airborne viruses.

_This is a good moment to start running._

_._

_

* * *

.  
_

After having successfully outran the giant Sand Worm virus – the boy named it – and having taken refuge amongst large rocky formations, Forte was holding Netto by the neck again. The only difference was that this time the navi had slammed him against a rock wall and was pressing him against it.

"Explain."

Forte's voice was cold, but Netto wasn't bothered by it. _Let me go and I'll explain,_ he replied calmly as he returned the navi's cold stare with his own defiant one.

"What makes you think I will let you go? Now that I'm back to the net and you are here, I could easily kill you," red eyes narrowed and the hand holding the human boy against the rock tightened its grasp a fraction.

'_Could' being the keyword, Forte,_ Netto replied smiling in confidence as he reached up to his left upper arm and squeezed it.

The pain that came from upsetting the wound had its desired effect and the navi released him and took a step backwards to look down at his own left arm. It had only been a dull ache, nothing that could stop him, but that wasn't what had stopped him from crushing the human's neck in his hand.

_Yup,_ Netto said as he sat down onto the ground and leaned against the rock wall to rest while he brought his left hand to rest on the cut on his right side. The wounds weren't bleeding nor hurting as they normally would do, but they were still uncomfortable. _We are still connected. My pain is your pain, and vice-versa. So, if I die, you will probably die with me._

Forte glared at him for a few seconds then turned around and started to walk away. If he couldn't kill the human, at least he could go as far away as he could and return to live his life in the real Undernet.

_Wait,_ Netto stood up and bounced after him. _I don't think this is the real net…_

When the navi stopped in his walk, the boy halted in his pursuit and sighed as he received yet another glare. _What I mean is…_ he paused and looked around at the vertical rock surfaces standing tall around them. _I have these visions… they come and go… sometimes they last for a while, sometimes they are a fraction of a second, but…_

Forte watched as his human copy, save for a few details on his suit, struggled with his words with a deep frown on his face. He could even faintly feel his uneasiness, sense of dread and the need for a cloak covering his back. Dismissing the minor problem of a missing cape, which he was missing too and that he could recreate later, the navi focused his full attention onto the boy.

_I think we're not really here…_ Netto said after a while. Forte actually noticed for the first time that the boy wasn't moving his mouth when he spoke, but seemed to communicate with him with his own mind. _Well, we are… but… ohhh… this is so hard to explain…_

"Perhaps it would be easier if you told me what you see in these visions of yours…" Forte growled as he crossed his arms. He had a suspicion of what the boy was trying to explain because he could feel that there was something wrong with the desert they were in. Then there was the fact that his abilities had seemingly deleted themselves from his persona.

Netto closed his eyes and hummed for several seconds. _I see… I see a room,_ he said as he tried to remember those few clear images he had seen. _There are a lot of computers in it… people working on them and walking back and forth, saying something about not being able to find the code. We are being held by an invisible force high up into the air enough so that those people can easily reach our chest and head…_

The navi listened until the boy was done, then raised an eyebrow. "We?"

Opening his eyes and looking into Forte's red ones, Netto nodded his head. _Yeah. We,_ he said with a light frown. _We're still stuck together in a Cross Fusion or I wouldn't be here and talking to you using my mind instead of my mouth…_

Deciding that there was nothing more to talk about, Forte uncrossed his arms and turned around to walk further into the maze of rock. Although there was probably nothing useful for him where he was headed, wandering aimlessly was always better than staying still and wait for that giant Sand Worm to tunnel its way to where they were.

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* * *

.

Three days later, at least according to Forte's accurate assumptions, the two were still wandering the faux Undernet Desert. So far they had managed to avoid another direct encounter with the Sand Worm and its minions, but both human and navi had the feeling that they wouldn't be able to last much longer.

Already Netto was struggling in his steps, breathing hard and half curling into the safety of his cloak. More than once Forte had to stop and let the boy rest, and although he was disgruntled at the fact that he had to slow down for him, he could feel the increasing tiredness of the human. Even he was starting to feel the effects of whatever was happening to their shared body in the real world.

Red eyes scanned the horizon and located the dust cloud that the Sand Worm created while moving. The giant virus was currently heading away from them, but he wouldn't be surprised if the thing turned around at the last minute and chased them again. And with only his fading strength and a half-dead boy as an annoying luggage at his disposal, he decided that going in the opposite direction of the Sand Worm's current route was the best idea.

Turning to his left and walking down the dune they had been standing on to survey the desert, Forte suddenly noticed that there was no sound of dragging footsteps following him. He stopped and looked back up at the top of the hill, growling under his breath at the body laying face down onto the sand.

Unable to just leave the human behind like he would like to do, the navi walked back up the incline and prodded Netto with his foot. "Hey, wake up, human…" he grunted. Seeing that he received no reply, he shifted his cloak onto his back and kneeled next to the downed boy, shaking him by the shoulder.

Again, he received no reply so he rolled the boy onto his back to slap at his face as violently as he could without actually hurting his own face because of their link. However, he stopped and unconsciously winced when his eyes wandered to Netto's right side.

The cut wasn't bleeding, nor there was dematerialization of data, but it looked like it was starting to get infected. Knowing that their current bodies were mere representation guided by their consciousnesses, he narrowed his eyes in anger. Those disgusting humans, the ones that had captured them, were apparently not treating the wound. Not that he cared about the boy, but if he died, he would follow him in his destiny…

"You are taking the burnt of it, aren't you?" he asked the unconscious boy despite knowing that he would not receive an answer. He stared at Netto for a while before he snorted and hauled him onto his shoulder. "You own me one, boy."

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* * *

.

When Blues logged into the server that was trying to hack into Forte's Ultimate Program he was expecting to find a small place full of data and a lot of high security, not an exact reproduction of the Undernet Desert that seemed to never end no matter in what direction he looked at. Right now he was standing on top of a cliff and was overlooking a sea of dunes.

"Enzan-sama," he called, opening a video link with his operator. "Our search might take longer than we thought…"

Enzan cringed as he watched the light brown expanse his navi was in. "Is there anything particular? A landmark or a structure?"

Blues shook his head and was going to reply negatively when something in the distance caught his attention. "Actually, there is something. A cloud of dust. And it seems to be moving in my direction."

"Check it out, but keep your guard up," the boy ordered as he stepped to the side to let two policemen and a cuffed scientist walk past. "Mejin just told me that this system does not support any kind of chip and disable your standard weapon, so all you have is your speed and strength."

"Yes, Enzan-sama."

The navi cringed at the prospect of fighting against something with the only use of his limbs, especially if that something was a certain Black Shadow. Even if his abilities were stopped by the system and they were roughly matched in speed, Forte still had the upper hand in strength.

Still, he had to find the black navi and get him out of the server if they wanted to unhook him from all the machines without permanently damage his data. Not that he wanted to save him since Forte was their declared enemy, but he had a feeling that he had useful information. There was the problem of making him talk, but they would come to that when it was time.

"Did the search party found Netto yet?" he asked as he jumped from the cliff and landed on a dune below in a crouch. Before departing for the mission, Commissioner Kifune and Dr. Hikari had held a debriefing and had given him a map of the place.

Located in a forest north of Netopia, the base was several hundred feet underground and was a complex maze that had more than one policeman lost while they searched the rooms for any hidden person. It had taken them hours just to cover the main parts and had just started with the less used rooms. Forte had been easily located, but Netto was still missing…

"No trace of him yet," Enzan replied as he shifted his focus between checking his navi and watching Mejin frantically typing away at a console, trying to either find Forte's location in the server and finding a way to unhook him without actually finding him.

Behind the two, a team of medics and scientists were scratching at their heads as they argued on how to best treat the navi's wounds. They had been roughly patched just to stop the bleeding, especially the one on his side. That wasn't the problem, however. What befuddled them was that the injuries were a mix of real flesh and data.

They knew that in a Cross Fusion it was the human host that suffered injuries while the navi was damaged only if the emblem on the chest was hit. This was completely new to them and more than once one or two of the scientists suggested that they should just let the navi die for his crimes.

"Blues, I'm leaving for a while," Enzan said as he glanced behind his back with a frown. He knew very well of Forte's crime score, but that didn't mean that he was going to let him die that way. "Call me if you need something."

Blues nodded as he ran through the dunes in the direction of the dust cloud. "Yes, Enzan-sama," he replied, closing the video link but keeping a direct line with his PET open.

He spent the next thirty minutes in running and leaping through the dunes until he was finally close enough to the cloud of dust and sand to see something huge swimming his way. A shade darker than the desert and with armored plaques on its back, the thing was longer than anything he had seen and moved in the sand like a shark would do in the sea.

Having a feeling that there was no way he would be able to defeat such a creature without at least his basic sword, he jumped out of the way in time to not be run over. Once the beast had thundered past him, it sunk into the sand and disappeared.

"Enzan-sama," he called as he opened a video link with his operator. "I have found an extremely large creature lurking in the server. It might be a new kind of virus…"

Before Enzan could reply, the ground shook and the sand parted just before hundreds of teeth rose towards the black sky. The mouth that appeared afterwards let out a loud low-toned wail that sent sand and navi up into the air to reveal a never ending black pit. Jacking out of the net seemed to not work because of some interference the beast was releasing and that left Blues to fall down to certain deletion.

Enormous jaws started to close around him and the navi twisted around in search of a way out or at least a place where to land without having to go all the way down to the creature's stomach. The teeth, although sharp, were wide and far enough from each other to get a good footing without getting hurt by the needle-like tips.

He prepared himself for landing on one of the deeper teeth, knowing that if he missed he would end up in a worse situation. Before he could twist in midair and gain a correct trajectory however, he abruptly came to a halt and swung there for a second before he looked up at the hand grasping at his long hair.

Letting his eyes go past the hand, Blues focused onto the navi that was holding him. Forte was crouching onto one of the teeth, holding the tip with his other hand to steady himself and looked weary.

"You are going to be my ticket out of here," he grunted as he pulled Blues up enough so that he could get a hold onto the tooth he was standing on.

Standing up, Blues carefully observed his "rescuer" from head to toe. He stood tall as usual, with his cape enveloping him and his stone cold eyes looking down at him from behind the rim of the cloak. There were subtle changes, however. Like in the way he was slightly leaning to his right and had his left shoulder a bit lower than his right one. And his eyes were blinking a lot, as if warding off tiredness.

Then, as the huge virus righted itself, gravity changed and soon the two navis were standing onto the soft gum, eyes still not leaving the other in fear of a surprise attack. That is, until Forte turned around and walked away into a seemingly random direction with the silent agreement that Blues would follow.

"I have been looking for you," Blues said as he followed the cloaked navi from a safe distance. There might be an unspoken truce between them, but it was better safe than sorry. "We believe you know certain details that would be useful for us."

"What makes you think I will answer your questions?" Forte asked, voice cold as he continued to walk through the forest of teeth.

Blues observed how the other navi had a slight limp every time he placed his right foot down. He either had a wound on his leg or on his side that really bothered him. "You said it yourself," he replied warily and unable to determine Forte's next move thanks to that cloak of his in the way. "You need me to get out of here. Let's make a deal. I help you, and you give me the answers I want."

Forte stopped in his walk and slightly turned around to glare at the other navi for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and resumed walking. "It's a deal," he said calmly.

Releasing a sigh that he didn't realize he was holding, Blues resumed following the other navi to whatever destination he had set. "Do you know what they want from you?"

Taking his time and deciding that for the moment he would keep his host a secret for a reason he couldn't understand yet, Forte followed a seemingly random path until he could see the tooth he had tied the boy to so that he wouldn't slip down the beast's throat and into its stomach. "A code," he replied with a snort. "Those pathetic humans are going to pay for doing this to me…"

Blues frowned at those words, but followed in silence until Forte stopped at one of the teeth and untied something from it while spewing insults under his breath. He watches as the cloaked navi crouched down and used his right arm to grab it and hide it from his view, probably not trusting the Official into seeing it yet.

Respecting Forte's distrust towards him, Blues remained where he was and opened a video link with his operator only to find that the signal was being jammed by whatever the large virus was emitting. "You have any idea what this code does?"

"No," the disgruntled reply came quickly. "Those incompetents did a mess and next thing I know I'm in the real world. And before you ask, no. I don't remember what they did, nor how they got their filthy hands on me while I was in the Undernet."

Anger boiled and his hands clenched around the human he was holding for a second before relaxing once again. There was no point in expending the last of his energy on a rage that he could not unleash. He would have to wait for that, but the first occasion he had, he would make those humans regret thinking that they could use him.

Busying himself onto reestablishing a link with his operator, Blues occasionally glanced at the crouched figure of Forte. Although they both knew that he was probably going to see whatever it was before too long, the black navi was still highly reluctant into uncovering his prized possession. "Do you know where Netto is? He's Rockman's operator."

The sudden question froze Forte where he was. He knew very well where the human boy was, but he felt reluctant in answering that. Distrust and confusion suddenly clawed at his insides and he unconsciously narrowed his eyes and clutched at the boy-copycat in his arms.

He was saved from answering when Enzan's voice filled the air, gaining Blues' attention. The navi glanced back at the still open video link and noticed that his operator's image could be faintly seen through the noise. Instantly, he summoned another window and started to type at it to adjust the signal as best as he could.

"Blues!" the white haired boy exclaimed as he finally managed to contact his navi. "What happened? The signal got jammed when you got swallowed by that giant virus."

Blues nodded his head and glanced towards the other navi. "The virus is apparently able to release a jamming signal, Enzan-sama," he replied returning his eyes onto his operator. "I am currently inside its mouth. I found Forte."

Enzan nodded before he turned his head to have a brief talk with Mejin. "We think we can bypass the jamming signal and get you out of there. However, Mejin believes that Forte can't go anywhere but his materialized body."

"Understood, human," the black navi replied from his spot. He didn't like to collaborate with anyone, much less if they were Officials, but he knew that he had no choice so he grabbed at the link when it appeared in front of him. Holding the boy with his right arm so that he would be able to carry him through the link too, he opened the file and activated the code inside, disappearing in a shower of data along with Blues.

Outside, in the real world, Enzan and Mejin watched as the green converters deactivated and cables snapped off from Forte's chest and head, finally releasing the materialized navi. He took a step forwards and smiled, muttering something that they couldn't hear before he collapsed to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Thanks to Mistrevar (DA)/Zephyra Cobalt () for helping me out again! And yush! Rockman finally gets some good airing time!

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az.

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* * *

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When Meijin entered the main laboratory of SciLabs carrying an unconscious and wounded Forte, everyone was silent for several long seconds. When the young man placed the navi onto a table and looked up at his perplexed coworkers, however, the room exploded into a cacophony of questions, demands and protests.

"If someone has anything to say about Forte's presence at SciLabs, they will come to me," Enzan firmly stated loudly enough to be heard by everyone. "For the moment, he will be held here and his wounds treated. Do I make myself clear?"

Silence filled the room again and the pale faced men looked at each other before filing out of the room as quickly as possible. Everyone at SciLabs had heard of Forte's past, and although no one had a clear knowledge on it, they knew that the navi hated them with a passion. If he woke up, they didn't want to be there to witness it.

"Looks like I'll have to do it," Meijin said as he walked to a cabinet and retrieved some medical supplies. He wasn't sure how he was going to heal the navi back to full health, but he was going to start with the flesh side of his body. The data, although it had dematerialized around the wounds, seemed stable enough and he had a feeling that it would recompose itself when the cuts on the flesh were treated and the infection had receded.

While he cleaned the cut on the navi's right side, and frowned at how infected it was, Meijin had to stop himself from prodding and poking Forte. The temptation of examining him and find out how he was sustaining a materialized form in the real world without the aid of a Dimensional Area was great. And then there was the fact that he appeared to have a body composed both by data and flesh.

Unless it was a Cross Fusion, but… it made no sense if there was no Dimensional Area active to maintain Forte's data in the real world. And the black navi would rather get deleted before merging with a human…

"They held him for almost a week and they didn't even bother to clean this…" he muttered eventually, not happy at the extensive infection he was dealing with. Forte might be an enemy to all humans, but there were certain limits at how you treated a prisoner.

"I will talk with Commissioner Kifune about what to do with him," Enzan suddenly said, almost making Meijin jump and drop the roll of gauze he was holding. "We still need answers."

The young scientist nodded his head as he hauled Forte up into a sitting position and started to bandage his side, glad that the navi was completely oblivious to anything that was happening to him. "I'll keep an eye on him," he replied, nodding. "Maybe surround him with a Dimensional Area. Normally it wouldn't keep someone as powerful as him restrained for long, but I doubt he is going to wake up any time soon."

Enzan nodded and left the room, leaving Meijin alone with his charge. The scientist glanced at his back as the automatic doors closed with a hiss for a moment before he turned his attention back to Forte with a sigh. "Or at least I hope so…" he muttered to himself as he went on the other side of the table and grabbed the navi's left upper arm, cutting the dirty bandages.

Carefully prying the gauze away from the clotted blood with the aid of clean water, and knowing that the wound he was currently working on had been inflicted in a fight a couple of days before his capture, he wondered how Forte had suddenly become so good at treating them. Perhaps he had looked up the information somewhere, but it still made no sense to him. There was something he was missing, and he had a feeling that this "code" Blues had told them about had something to do with everything.

His hands worked quickly while his mind played with all the elements he had. Theories formed and were discarded in a span of a few seconds until Meijin was left with nothing but the mysteriously materialized and unconscious Forte sitting on the table in front of him. After finishing treating and bandaging the navi's upper arm, he gave another sigh and placed one arm around his back and one under his knees, scooping him up.

Despite being materialized and having a partially flesh based body, Forte was slightly lighter than a human kid of his same build. He looked down at his face, only partially seeing it because of his helm. "So this is Forte, uh?" he asked to himself. Now that he wasn't rushing, he could really give the navi a good look. He had heard the story from Dr. Hikari, or as much as the man had witnessed back then, and knew that he was dangerous, but the longer he stared at the unconscious Forte in his arms, the more he felt that something was off.

Deciding that he wouldn't come to any conclusions unless he spoke with Forte directly, he walked our of the laboratory and took a left, directing himself to the basement where they kept all of the prototype Dimensional Area devices they had built before finally coming up with their own version of the converters. And maybe have a few scientists volunteer to find something comfortable for Forte to lay on.

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* * *

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When Enzan entered the conference room, he entered into a madhouse. People were screaming in anger, Rockman was trying his best to be heard above the loud voices without shouting, Yuichiro was sitting at a desk at the front of the room and worriedly looking downwards and Kifune and Manabe were listening at the scientists without showing any kind of emotion.

"Ah, Enzan-kun," the woman standing next to the Commissioner said with a smile. Upon hearing the Official NetBattler's name, everyone became quiet and turned their eyes on the boy as he walked through the room and stopped in front of the main desk. "Could you please explain what's happening? We heard you brought Forte back with you."

The boy nodded and took out his PET to let Blue log in into the monitor Rockman was using. The two greeted each other with a nod before turning their attention to the room and its occupants. "As I stated before, Forte seems to be against this new criminal organization and that was confirmed when the navi that called himself Ninja took him prisoner six days ago. When we managed to find him in the server of a computer trying to crack into his Ultimate Program, he told us that they are looking for a code they installed in him without him knowing or willing it."

His blue eyes scanned the room and glared at anyone that dared to interrupt him. "That said, I believe that he will be an ally, not an enemy," he took a pause and watched as the older scientists opened their mouths to protest. "Despite him hating us, I have a feeling that he needs our help with something and we need answers that he might have."

Rockman cleared his throat and gained the attention of everyone. "Not only that," he said with a nod, eyes filled with determination. "Blues has told me that when he questioned Forte of the whereabouts of Netto-kun, he went uncharacteristically tense and silent. I think he knows where he is, but for some reasons, he is uncomfortable in answering."

At those words, Yuichiro had to repress the need to bolt for the door and find the black navi. Even if it was a supposition, Rockman knew Forte better than anyone else that wasn't Cossack. If Rockman believed that Forte had an answer to where his Netto was, he believed it himself. "I know what he did in the past, I was there myself," he placed his hands on the desk and let his head fall down. "But if there is a chance that he knows where my son is, please…"

Kifune placed a hand onto one of the man's arms and gently brought him down to sit again. "I understand your worry and the need to find him, but," he paused and sighed. "We can't ignore his past or the fact that today he might be an ally, but tomorrow, once he's healed, will he still be an ally or will he destroy us all?"

"If that happens," Rockman replied without hesitation, "I will deal with him personally."

Enzan nodded. "And we will help," he said as he glanced at Blues, whom nodded back with a faint smile, before he let his eyes watch every single scientist present into the room. They still didn't like the idea of letting the rogue navi live, but they seemed to understand the predicament of their superior.

"Alright," an old man said as he stood up from the chair he was occupying. "But if something happens to SciLabs…" leaving his sentence unfinished, he turned around and walked out of the room, soon followed by all the others and leaving four people and two navis behind.

"You have to forgive them," Yuichiro said as he looked down at his folded hands resting on the desk. "Some can't forget what Forte did in the past. Because of his peculiar way of testing security, he was more of a bother to them than a help, so they came to hate him."

There was silence for several seconds as everybody was too busy absorbing Yuichiro's words until the image on the monitor split forcing the two navis on a half while on the other appeared Meijin. "Ah, I see the meeting has ended," he said while at his back two people closed the door of a glass structure and activated the device. "I have placed Forte inside one of our successful prototypes for the Dimensional Area. He's still out, but I have gotten several visits demanding for increased security, so I was wondering if Rockman and Blues would be so kind to come and help."

As the two navis nodded and disappeared in a shower of data, Meijin's image enlarged and became full screen. "So, what did you decide?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the troubled faces the four were wearing.

"We're keeping Forte here until further notice, Meijin," Yuichiro replied with a tired sigh. "He might be an ally this time. And Rockman believe he knows where Netto is."

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* * *

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He knew that place. The most important events in his life had happened there. His activation, his first meeting with his creator, but most of all, they had tried to delete him. He brought his hand up to his navi emblem and felt he scar on it. He had left it as a reminder of what humanity had done to him and how much he despised them and all the navis that associated with them.

Gritting his teeth, he looked up and noticed how dark and empty the place was. Then, so suddenly that he could do nothing, something lunged at him with an almost unholy screech. He avoided being slashed by leaping backwards and looked up at his assailant, instantly recognizing him. He was the same navi that had wounded him in the past.

The navi stood up and raised his sword, then a window appeared next to him and Cossack's eyes glared at Forte with contempt. "I should have never created you," he said in a booming voice. "You were a mistake! Delete him!"

The window disappeared and Forte felt too shocked to avoid the next lunge. The sword slashed at his chest and data flew everywhere as the blade cut through his frame and his emblem. Dazed, the navi staggered backwards and fell to the floor on his knees. "A… mistake…?"

He hated humanity. He hated it all, but at the moment Forte could do nothing but feel betrayed and in pain. "So I was really nothing to you…? Just an experiment that didn't come out as you wished?"

Cossack had abandoned him long ago, he knew that, and he hated him too, but his words still managed to hurt him to the point that he was unable to fight back. He watched as the security navi raised his sword high up into the air and waited for deletion.

That is, if the navi wasn't distracted by a rumbling coming from his left and a shout of "Gangway! Stampede coming thru!" just before he was trampled and then carried away by hundreds of ostriches.

Forte watched as the stampede passed in front of him with a thunderous roar, leaving an upturned and broken floor in their wake. When the large group of running birds disappeared into the dark distance, one stopped in front of him. It was different from the others, though, as it was larger, gold colored and wearing a light armor of sort. And there was this unexplainable source of light coming from behind the creature that made the rider appear as a black figure.

Mumbling something about his herd not listening to him, the rider dismounted and stood in front of Forte. The light at the back disappeared and the figure appeared for who he really was while the armored ostrich stood faithfully next to him. "Are you going to sit there all day?" Netto, in his human appearance, asked as he held out a hand to the navi.

Forte raised an eyebrow and started to realize that this was not reality, but a nightmare that was slowly turning to insanity thanks to the boy standing in front of him. He felt relieved because that meant that the earlier event had been a machination of his own mind, but he also felt doomed, he supposed, because it meant that he was stuck with him even during dreams.

"Forte?"

Red eyes looked up into the roundish brown ones of the human kid and he frowned deeply, swatting the offered hand away. "I don't need your help, human," he hissed as he looked away. "Just go away. Leave me alone for once!"

Next thing he knew was that the boy sat down behind him and leaned onto his back. "I can't," he replied as he idly played with the reins of his 'steed'. "You called."

Forte gritted his teeth and clenched at the ground with his fingers. "I am sure I did not call for you, human," he hissed angrily. There was no way he would call for help, much less if that help came from something he hated so much.

Netto nodded and hummed, letting the navi have his moment of hatred. "Yeah, you did," he countered, sure of himself. "I was running through a meadow with these ostriches and everything was fine, then something broke the spell and I suddenly knew that it was all a dream and that I had to come. And so, here I am."

"I don't want your help," Forte replied weakly as he glanced at where the window had been and shivered in disgust at how much Cossack's words had affected him even after ten years. Then the weight at his back moved and he suddenly found himself laying onto the ground and looking up at the determined face of the human kid. He hadn't realized how much he was leaning onto his back until now.

Netto wordlessly placed a finger onto Forte's emblem and the wound started to regenerate itself. "But you have it. Like it or not," he replied after the large gash had disappeared. He then stood up and offered his hand again. "So, you either accept it, or I'm going to shove it down your throat. Forcefully, I might add."

"Why?"

The boy grinned and his eyes filled with a spark of emotion that Forte was not sure he could recognize. "Because I want to."

"Because you want to…" the navi whispered to himself as he focused his eyes onto Netto's outstretched hand. Not because it would avoid him feeling his pain, nor because it was the right thing to do, but because he wanted to.

When his white gloved hand grasped Netto's and he was hauled up onto his feet, the last thing he saw before everything faded away was the boy smiling. "I won't betray you, Forte."

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* * *

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Wondering why dreams always ended when the good part came or when there was a big resolution of some sort, Netto slowly opened his eyes and noticed that he was looking at several psychedelic hexagons belonging to a dimensional area. They were smaller, however, so he knew that this was not the characteristic dome that could envelop an entire city block.

He was laying on a mattress on the ground and he was covered by a light blanket and although there was no pillow, he was very comfortable and felt refreshed despite the stiffness and soreness in his body.

Looking past the Dimensional Area's wall, Netto noticed Meijin working tirelessly on a console while Enzan watched and supplied some advices from time to time. Blinking away the sleep, he sat up and groaned softly as his side flared with pain, forcing him to lean onto his left arm and wince at the pain he got from the cut on his upper arm.

Then hands grabbed his shoulders and forced him back onto the mattress while Blues' voice called for his operator and Meijin's attention. Lifting his right leg up, Netto kicked away whoever was holding him down and groaned again as his right side protested painfully.

After that, things went downhill from there and before he knew what had happened, he was laying onto his chest and two sets of hands were pinning him down as much as the two owners could. And since they were navis, Netto, whom was weakened by his wounds and over a week without food, was unable to move at all. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he relaxed under the firm hold and watched as Meijin and Enzan walked to the Dimensional Area and looked down at him.

"Ah, I see you are awake, Forte," the scientist said. "You should take it easy for a while. You don't want those wounds to reopen. And the infection really did a number on you. You were out cold for three days."

_Three days…?_ Forte grunted, apparently just having woken up.

"We're going to let you go, ok?" Rockman, whom was the one holding him down by the shoulders, said as he slowly decreased the strength of his pin. "Just, don't do sudden movements or you're going to be stuck to this mattress more than you want to."

Closing his eyes and finally giving in, Netto didn't move from where he was when Rockman and Blues lifted their hands from him. For a moment he wanted to protest and tell them to get him to a real bed because he was Netto, but something actually stopped him from greeting his friends like he wanted to.

He could feel it. The distrust coming from Forte was intense, especially towards Meijin. He was still not entirely sure why, but the leftovers of that nightmare he had broken into to help the navi had cast some light onto Forte's past. Especially that open wound. It had been terrible to see, and if he focused long enough, he knew that he could also feel a phantom pain on his chest.

No. As much as he wanted to tackle and hug everyone, Forte deserved to be listened to too. That was why he would wait and act as him until the navi decided it was the right time to disclose their problem to SciLabs' staff.

Listening to Blues talking to Enzan and Meijin once again and feeling Rockman's eyes on his back, Netto remained silent and motionless until the automatic doors of the lab opened and more people walked inside the room.

_Three sets of footsteps,_ Forte supplied as he tried to ward off the sense of dread he was starting to feel. He didn't want to be stuck somewhere with a lot of the people that wanted him deleted and the boy too weak to stand up and fight back.

"We were on our way here when we received your message, Mejin."

Netto had a sudden conflict of emotions as his father spoke with his assistant. Happiness against hate and anger, relief against fear and the need to hug the man against the need to blow things up and run away.

He listened to the two men talk about the status of his wounds and about all the possible theories on how a navi could materialize in the real world and have a partially flesh body. Cross Fusion was mentioned, but both were highly doubtful towards that particular theory. The other two people, Manabe and Kifune, spoke only when they had a question for the two scientists.

Inside the Dimensional Area, Rockman kneeled next to the downed navi. "Forte," he spoke softly but at the same time with determination. "I… please, tell me where Netto-kun is."

The only reply came in the form of a very light cringe before the black navi turned his head away and tensed his body. Rockman watched Forte's still form with slightly narrowed eyes. It was just like Blues had told him. The black navi was reluctant in answering that particular question and that strengthened his belief in him knowing where Netto was.

Still, he didn't press the matter further despite the urgent need to know. That would only make Forte less willing to talk than he already was. He just hoped that waiting didn't result in Netto dying or he would never be able to forgive himself if that happened.

Sitting down onto the mattress and giving Forte his back, Rockman folded his legs and curled his arms around them. "I hope you're ok, Netto-kun…" he whispered to himself as he let his head rest on his knees.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thanks to Mistrevar (DA)/Zephyra Cobalt (FanFiction) for helping me out again **and** coming up with the name for the criminal organization!

Anyway, slow chapter, but I felt that Netto and Forte deserved some rest after all they went through.

**Also,** check out my profile for a wonderful fanart by SoulAura777

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az

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It had been roughly one day since he had first woken up in SciLabs, and floating inside a room barely large enough to contain three people without them bumping into each other for hours was starting to make Netto really restless. It was only thanks to the occasional whispered banter with Forte, which drew stares from Rockman and Blues, that he was able to stop himself from blowing the Dimensional Area up and leave.

There was another problem that was surfacing and that was even more pressing than boredom. And that was the fact that he was starting to get really hungry. Shifting his hand under a newly summoned cloak, the boy pressed a hand onto his bandaged middle and watched as Meijin and Yuichiro discussed about what to do with him.

So far he had managed to keep his real identity hidden with the use of his cloak and by keeping his eyes hidden behind the rim of his helm, but he knew that Rockman was starting to be suspicious. Sure, he didn't know what bothered him, but the blue navi _knew_ something fishy was up and had rarely averted his gaze from him.

Floating closer to the wall of the Dimensional Area, he placed a hand onto it and tested its durability. As he had expected, it was weak compared to the larger dome and every time he tapped a finger to it, he could see the surface ripple with an unusual humming sound.

Before everyone mistook his action as an attempt to escape, he floated back to his usual corner and watched as Blues and Rockman gazed at him with worried faces before resuming talking to each other in hushed tones. Netto knew they were tense, he could see it in their stiff stance, and Enzan was always present unless he had something really urgent to take care of or he needed to sleep. In that case, he would leave his PET to Meijin, trusting him to keep Blues safe until he came back.

_How long are they planning to keep us in here?_ Forte grumbled, annoyed at the fact that he had to play being weak and unable to escape. _Do they really think I could be held by such flimsy walls?_

Netto slightly lowered his head into his cloak so that only his eyes were left out. "Let them think that," he whispered back in a very faint voice, knowing that Forte would hear it anyway. "I trust my dad and the others, but I want to know if they can stop the other scientists of SciLabs from harming us."

_Like they could,_ the navi snorted. _I can kill them all with a single finger._

Netto frowned and shifted his eyes from the two navis standing on the other end of the small room to his father. "I know. But I don't want to kill them, and I don't want to have to watch my back all the time while I'm here. It would be tiresome…"

_I still don't understand why you haven't told them who you are, though._ Forte sounded genuinely confused this time and his voice was so calm that Netto could mistake it for gentle. _What stops you from telling them?_

The boy wordlessly leaned against the Dimensional Area's wall and slid down to sit on the ground, his cape leaving out only his lower legs. "I thought I told you before," he muttered, his eyes back onto Blues and Rockman. "You own this body as much as I do. It would be unfair of me to force you into something you are reluctant to do. Besides, might I remind that we partially share our feelings?"

Forte didn't reply, but Netto felt that the navi was musing at what he had said. Leaving him to his thoughts, and glad that they weren't sharing those too, he brought his left hand up to scratch at the bandages on his side. Between the dried blood and whatever medication they had applied there, the cut was starting to itch and become uncomfortable. He really needed to change them and give his wound another cleansing, but he had no supplies inside the Dimensional Area and the only way to get them was to break out of his prison. And cause a lot of panic.

Another way was for Enzan to enter the Dimensional Area using the energy of Cross Fusion as a shield. That way he would be able to carry along some medical supplies, but Netto knew he couldn't just walk up to Blues and suggest that or he would be instantly discovered.

_You make no sense, boy._

Netto raised an eyebrow. "Boy?" he asked in amusement, a hint of a smile gracing his lips. "You upgraded my status from 'measly, filthy and useless human' to 'boy'? I'm grateful."

Taken off guard, Forte took a few more seconds than usual to display his indignation at the verbal jab his host had given him. _Stop muttering to yourself. If you wan tot impersonate me, shut up,_ he hissed vehemently. _Your friends are looking at us in a way I do __**not**__ like. __**Human**__._

Glancing up at Rockman and Blues from behind the safety of his helmet and cloak once again, Netto noticed that Forte was right. The two navis were looking at him like he had grown a second head. Not that it would surprise him if it really happened. They were so messed up that not even the navi he was stuck with was able to make head or tail of what they had done to them.

Forcing himself to not laugh at the other two's faces, the boy huddled into himself a little more and winced as the movement disturbed the healing gash on his side. He shifted into a more comfortable position and brought his left hand to it, retracting it and bringing it in front of his eyes once he felt wetness.

Not having noticed earlier because of him being too busy staying out of sight, he was amazed how well he could feel stuff despite the spandex-like gloves enveloping his hands and the rest of his body. The amazement, however, was quickly replaced by annoyance as his eyes saw that his white fingers were coated in a red liquid.

"Great," he grunted, returning his hand to his side and pressing it to the bandages to limit the blood loss. "It opened again…"

Too busy trying to not lose too much blood, Netto never noticed when Blues and Rockman disappeared from the Dimensional Area, nor when the psychedelic walls faded a few minutes later. What he noticed, though, were the legs belonging to three people standing still in front of him. Neither too close nor too far away.

He didn't look up for fear of letting his brown eyes be seen, but he recognized the people by what they were wearing. Enzan's camo pants, Meijin's plain dark green ones and the more business-like dark brown of his father. Both older men had their lab-coats on and were standing slightly further away from him than Enzan was.

"Forte," his father called out, inducing an involuntary shiver to run down his back. Netto knew that he meant no harm to him, but Forte still felt too uncomfortable around him to let him any closer without attacking. "We need to change those bandages."

Yuichiro was genuinely worried as he held out a white box with a red cross on it, but that didn't stop Netto from standing up and sliding away, careful to keep his eyes hidden from view. He was halted, however, when his father outstretched a hand. "Wait," he called hastily in fear of losing one of the very few opportunities to talk with him. "Please, wait…"

The boy turned to fully face the older scientist, floated backwards a few steps and inclined his head in a motion that meant that he was listening.

"I know that your past experience with SciLabs wasn't nice at all," the man began, eyes locked onto the mysterious cloaked figure standing in front of him while he felt the tension between them all become so dense that he could almost touch it with his fingers. "But I know that you're here for a reason other than destroying us. That you need our help, as much as you hate to admit it…"

Yuichiro dearly hoped that his words wouldn't trigger Forte's anger and make him go into a destructive rampage. Wanting to show his good will, he held the first aid kit up again and offered it to the navi. "I'm serious, Forte. Your wound really needs to be treated."

Still pressing his hand to the now drenched bandages, Netto watched his father as best as he could without revealing his eyes. Then he shifted his gaze onto Enzan and Meijin, whom where both nervous and ready to bolt into action if necessary, and lastly onto the offered medical supplies.

Netto remained where he was, unable to decide what to do. Forte's distrust and hate were strong, but they both knew that they couldn't just float around with an open and bleeding wound. It was suicide, especially since a lot of people were still after whatever code the navi had.

Slowly snaking his right hand out of his cloak and past the scarf-like extension – he should tie them at his back again or even find out why they were there when they were apparently useless – he grabbed the kit and floated further away from the trio of people that had released their breaths into a collective sigh of relief. Opening the lid with his thumb, he let his eyes skim over the contents.

A few rolls of gauze, a bottle of disinfectant, sealed cotton swabs, a few syringes, some smaller bottles of what could be antibiotics and several other trinkets useful in an emergency.

"I'm not sure I can take care of the cut myself, Forte," Netto whispered, eyes returning to the three people standing in front of him expectantly. "It's hard to reach for me, and from what Meijin said, it's something extensive…"

Understanding the dilemma they were facing, the navi grunted in displeasure. _Fine, fine,_ he grumbled out, knowing that there was no other way around it. Even he had to admit that taking care of that particular cut on their side would be troublesome. _But at one condition…_

"Yes, yes," Netto interrupted him before he could explain his idea. "One wrong move, and we're out of here."

Smiling to himself because he was starting to finally understand how Forte thought enough to anticipate him, the boy held the first aid kit out to his father in a clear sign that he would let them take care of his wounds.

Yuichiro took the offered box back slowly. He knew that one wrong move would break the newly formed, and very weak, trust he had gained from the navi. "Come?" he asked softly as he motioned with his head the glass door of the Dimensional Area's roomy device before he made his way to it accompanied by Meijin and Enzan.

The man had asked them to let him handle the situation entirely, but they had refused in letting him face Forte on his own. Letting Rockman take charge of the Dimensional Area Generator to activate it if it was necessary, Enzan and Blues were ready to do a Cross Fusion the moment the black navi did a wrong move. Meijin, although there was nothing he could really do if Forte attacked, he was too curious and had to be present anyway.

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The odd procession that was created when Yuichiro, Meijin and Enzan started to led Forte through SciLabs attracted many stares. For the most part people whispered in wonder and fear at the presence of the navi that had a bad history with the place they worked for, but sometimes Netto could feel stares of hatred burning a hole into the back of his head.

Not wanting to incur his wrath, nor be fired because they went against their boss's wish to help the navi, however, the older scientists that remembered Forte's exploits in the past remained hidden where they were or left the premises with muttered words of disdain.

_Pathetic,_ Forte snorted in disgust at the cowardly display of those people and easily catching their words thanks to the enhanced hearing he had gained with Cross Fusion. They hated him, but all they did was to hide and try to find a way to stab him in the back when he wasn't looking.

"I don't like their stares either," Netto replied softly as he watched another, younger, scientist scurrying away and locking himself into a room. "What happened between you and SciLabs, anyway?"

_It's none of your business…_

Sighing softly at Forte's reluctance on revealing what really happened in his past, he gave a quick glance at the trio leading him. His father and Meijin hadn't noticed, but Enzan, being the closest to him, had caught the faint whispering. Netto immediately snorted and hid into the rim of his cloak as much as he could.

Tension rose between him and the white haired boy, so Netto was perfectly happy when Yuichiro stopped and opened a seemingly random door at the end of one of SciLabs's many corridors. "The infirmary, but I suppose you still remember SciLabs' layout well enough to not need the information."

Slowly floating past his father, Netto entered the room and stopped in the middle of it, looking around. He had been in there once or twice because of the injuries he had gotten when he fought with Rockman in a Cross Fusion, but he had never stopped to observe the room.

There were two beds on one end, some machine on his left and a desk on his right. The room itself was small, and despite the smell of disinfectant and Forte's ever growing paranoia, it felt comfy. Meijin sat at the desk and turned the computer on to let Rockman log into it while Enzan took his place near the door with crossed arms and Yuichiro patted one of the beds in the room.

Netto tensed his body. Despite knowing that his father really meant well, Forte still didn't want a human to lay a finger on him. No matter how much he needed the help. Taking a deep and slow breath to steady himself, the boy parted his cape, let it rest at his back and sat on the bed with a frown on his lips. The sooner he dealt with this, the better.

Yuichiro didn't wait and instantly set to work on who he believed was Forte. His hands gently unwrapped the navi's side and winced as the blood slowly gushed past the dematerialized data and down his hip to land on the bed. It remained there for a while then started to dematerialize too.

Since the navi's blood had never done that before, he spent a few seconds on examining the phenomenon, then, storing the information for later study, he grabbed a cloth and pressed it against the open cut. "Well, at least the infection has receded to almost nothing," he commented, looking up at the stoic Forte. Considering his hate, he had expected him to flinch or at least growl at the touch. "The cut doesn't seem to be sealing up, though. I might have to stitch it up…"

At the mention of stitches, Netto barely managed to not flinch. Was the cut on his side that deep? His eyes shifted from his father, whom had his head bowed and was cleaning the wound from all the blood, to Meijin speaking with Rockman in a hushed voice. Not really interested in their conversation, he turned his attention to Enzan.

The official NetBattler was still leaning against the wall next to the door and with his arms crossed while his blue eyes never strayed from him. In return to the stare, Netto smiled and watched from beyond the safety of his cloak and helmet how Enzan's eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled downwards into a light frown.

_He and Rockman are becoming too suspicious…_ Forte commented, keeping his senses on full alert and especially focused on the hands tampering with their side. _They know something's up._

Netto's smile grew only by a fraction, but it was noticed nonetheless by his friend on the other side of the room. He knew that people would become suspicious of Forte's odd behavior, especially Enzan and Rockman, but the two still lacked important pieces to the puzzle to realize the truth.

"Looks like I have to stitch it after all," Yuichiro said, drawing everyone's attention to him. He turned his head to look at Meijin and nodded, silently conveying to the other scientist the need for him to grab the necessary supplies. "It's not really necessary, but if I don't, this cut might take too long to heal. Even considering the fact that it seems to heal much faster than normal humans could do."

Netto's smile turned into a frown as he watched his father press another clean cloth to his side while Meijin moved about the room for a couple of minutes before he stood next to Yuichiro with a tray and several items on it. Taking a syringe in his hand and examining it and its clear contents, the boy wondered when his father had become a doctor and not just a scientist.

"It's an anesthetic," the man supplied as he looked up from Forte's wound. For a brief moment he had caught a glimpse of his eyes, but the navi quickly inclined his head just enough to hide them from view. He frowned for a second, finally understanding why Rockman and Enzan had become so suspicious, then held up his hand. "Stitching is not a comfortable thing, Forte."

The navi seemed to contemplate for several seconds before he gave the tool to the man and turned his head away with a very light snort. Yuichiro stared at Forte for a second then sighed to himself and inserted the needle into the navi's side. This was going to be one long suturing…

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After spending almost an hour sitting on a bed while his father sutured and then bandaged his side, Netto was floating through SciLabs in a rather sour mood and with an empty stomach. "At least that's taken care of…" he grunted as he felt the fabric around his middle with a hand. His father had also checked the cut on his upper left arm and had decided that all it needed was a light clean up and a new dressing. "But I can't believe he had to suture it…"

Sighing in deject, the boy turned a corner and floated towards the recreation area as per dictated by his stomach. "You know," he whispered as he entered into the room and watched as everyone left in a hurry once they saw him. "I still can't get around the idea that whatever I eat is converted into data. It sounds so… strange…"

_This whole situation has no sense,_ Forte replied as he observed the food contained in a food dispenser through the eyes of his host. During their travel together, they had discovered that no matter the quantity of food Netto ingested, he never needed to go to the bathroom. That was a curiosity that prompted Forte into doing a deeper scan of their shared body, thus discovering the odd ability. The digitalized food then was fed to the navi's powers that in turn kept them healthy.

Netto hummed in agreement as he briefly scanned the machine's contents. "Chips, chips, sweets… those won't be enough…" he commented unhappily before he turned around and left the room. He needed real food if he wanted to satiate the hunger he had, not a few packets of chips and a bunch of sweets.

"Maybe I can order something by phone," he continued in his muttering as he aimlessly wandered SciLabs's corridors. "But again, how do I pay it. It's not like I can walk up to dad, pull at his sleeve and say 'dad, I'm hungry. Can you lend me some money?'…"

His wanderings brought him back to SciLabs's entrance without him realizing. Still lacking a good portion of the front wall and floor thanks to what he had done - but that he couldn't remember well – the entrance hall was busier than usual as people worked to rebuild it.

"Ah, Forte! I was hoping to find you."

His father's voice coming from the crowd of people made him slightly turn around to observe the man as he walked up to him. He was holding a white grocery bag in his left hand while he had some keys in the other. "Can I have a word with you?"

After seeing Forte slightly incline his head in a nod, the scientist motioned for him to follow. "I've noticed that you have been somewhat… lethargic since you woke up from your three days of standby," he explained as he boarded an elevator and watched as the navi floated after him and took the farthest corner from him. "So, considering you have a partially flesh body and you can bleed, maybe you also need food."

Yuichiro observed how Forte slightly turned his head to look at the bag he was holding. He didn't seem too particularly interested in the food, but again, the navi was keeping his face well hidden from view for a reason he couldn't truly understand.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened with a ding, revealing a corridor that Netto knew would lead them to his father's personal laboratory. Without the usual scientists milling about, it would be a nice place to relax and enjoy the food.

Stepping out of the elevator, Yuichiro led the navi to his office and let him inside. "I didn't know what you like," he said as he closed the door to ward off any unwanted people. "So I went and got you the first thing I saw."

He placed the bag on a table and opened it up, taking out a sealed bowl. "Oddly, I ended up buying my son's favorite. Curry mainly," he said with a sad smile as he placed the small container on the table and fished more stuff out of the bag. "But there are other things too…"

Yuichiro, busy as he was in trying to quell his worry and try to break the tension of being alone with a dangerous navi, never noticed when Forte floated to the table and looked down at the food. However, he did see him grab the bowl of curry and open it to stare at its contents. "It might not look like it, but it's actually good. You might like it," he said as he placed a spoon on the table and left for the smaller, more office-like room of his lab.

Netto watched him go, and when the man was out of his sight, he turned back to the food laying in front of him. "Thank you, dad," he whispered holding up the bowl to his face and breathing in the wonderful scent of curry for a few seconds before he dived in.

The food, which amounted to a rather large lunch, didn't last long. Especially since Netto was too hungry to spend some seconds to savor it. Or notice that his father would occasionally steal a glance at his cloaked back from his office or even hear him quietly speak with Rockman about him and the odd quirks he seemed to have lately.

When he was done, Netto set the plate back onto the table and turned around to look at his father in the other room. Rockman was gone, either to talk with Roll and the others or trying to find in the net anything useful regarding his operator, and had left the man alone with his thoughts. The boy unconsciously floated closer and noticed that he was holding a framed photography of his family.

What stopped him from instinctively reaching out to his father's shoulder with his hand was the sudden movement Yuichiro did to replace the photo back onto his desk. "I know you're ok, but I can't help but be worried about you," he said to himself, unaware of the silent presence behind his back. "I just wish you would tell us what's happening instead of sending cryptic messages…"

Gritting his teeth, Netto turned around and left the room, unable to bear the sight of his father being so worried about him.

_Where are we going now?_

The boy opened the first window he could find and flew out into the evening air. "To find a way to send my dad a message," he replied with determination as he gained altitude and watched the city from his vantage point. People were still reluctant in coming out of their houses, so the streets were almost deserted.

_Do you realize that we still have those navis after us?_

Netto nodded and scanned the land with attention. Unless there was a navi in the enemy's ranks that had the ability to fly, he was safe while he was up there, but once he landed things could get ugly. Now that he had a full belly he was feeling much better, but he knew that he was far from being fully healed and ready to battle.

"I'm not sure of who I should be more worried about," he said as slowly flew through the air in a random direction, still not sure how he was going to send a message to his father. "Paladin is strong, but that Ninja guy is sneaky."

_Are you saying that my powers are not enough to take care of them?_ Forte hissed in indignation.

"Uh, no. Didn't say that, Forte," Netto quickly replied to cut the navi from ranting out. "I'm just saying that they aren't exactly a walk in the park. Especially with those green converter things that seems to suck all your power out of us."

They idly flew in companionable silence above the city for a while until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. "Do you think we should go back?" he asked, actually finding that he liked to wander aimlessly through the air. It gave him a sense of freedom that he had never felt before and time seemed to cease to exist if he floated on his back and stared up at the sky.

Righting himself and looking down at the city below, he noticed that the wind had carried him to his school. An idea suddenly formed and he floated down to one of the windows of his class. "No matter how many virus attacks there are," he said as he slid the window open and entered the room. "This place has the bad habit to never close."

Forte watched in silence as his host grabbed a piece of chalk and started to fill the blackboard with writings and random doodles of people he knew. He wasn't an expert artist, but when he stood back, he nodded and congratulated himself for having at least drawn recognizable friends. Those, along with the large "eat your curry!" writing taking up the middle of the board would instantly grab attention and his teacher would instantly recognize his handwriting.

"Now I can go back," he chuckled as he replaced the half consumed chalk back in its box. He reached the window and jumped outside, and with one last look at his handwork, he slid it close and flew away, disappearing into the night sky.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** This chapter was quite the struggle, especially the first part in the school. But the last part, the one with Yuichiro, flowed like water. Yuichiro is really a good boy. Thanks to him, this is the longest chapter so far! I just hope Yuichiro is not too OOC…

Special thanks to Mistrevar (DA)/Zephira Cobalt (FanfictionNet) for always helping me past the random blockages I come across.

As always, forgive me for the errors I was unable to find.

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine.

Az.

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Enzan's eyes were narrowed and his walk was more of a stomping as he and Yuichiro walked through the halls of Netto's school. After Roll had come to SciLabs in a rush to deliver the news that Netto had left another message, he had caught a glimpse of Forte smirking before the navi hid his face from view yet again.

"He knows," he said to the man walking next to him. "Now I'm sure of it. Forte knows what's happening to Netto."

Yuichiro placed a hand onto the boy's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I have a feeling that he will talk when he is ready," he replied softly. "Forte has a reason to be at SciLabs, or he would have killed us all already. That, however, doesn't mean that he is ready to trust us with everything he knows…"

Enzan frowned. "He is mellower, though," he supplied as he remembered how much Forte was willing to be helped. "And he seems to trust you, doctor."

The scientist nodded his head and hummed. "It's a very weak trust, Enzan. I can see it in his movements. They might appear to be calm and calculated, but in truth he is tense and ready to blow up anything that is potentially harming to him. I wouldn't expect anything less from him after what he went through…"

The two reached Netto's classroom and found Meiru, Dekao and Yaito standing in front of the door. The three smiled upon seeing them and the red haired girl opened the door for them with an excited smile. "The message makes no sense, almost as if he wanted to pull a prank, but I know it can't be. This morning I went to see how his mom was doing, and he wasn't back."

Not having gone home for the past four or so days, exactly since Forte had been brought back to SciLabs, Yuichiro was grateful that the girl had been so kind as to go to see how his wife was doing. She wasn't doing well and was able to sleep only when she was too tired to stay awake.

After quickly greeting each other, the group entered into the classroom and stared at the scribbled board. There wasn't a corner that wasn't filled to the brim with lines.

"'Eat your curry'?" Enzan asked with a raised eyebrow. Unlike before, this time the message truly had no sense and Netto had left nothing behind. Maybe this was just to tell them all that he was alright and that there was nothing to worry about. "This might be just to let us know he's ok."

"So," Yaito's voice came from his back and broke him out of his thoughts. "You know what's happening, right?"

The white haired boy turned around and looked down at the girl without betraying any emotion. Part of him wanted to tell them as much as he could because, being Netto's closest friends, they deserved to know, but at he same time he knew that giving them any information would get them involved in too much danger.

"You shouldn't get involved," he eventually said, turning back to the blackboard and ignoring the loud protests coming from the other three kids. He looked up at Yuichiro, who was looking down at a holographic display coming from Rockman's PET, and watched him for a few seconds "It's too dangerous."

"The surveillance didn't catch anything," Rockman said after coming back from checking the school's security net. "Netto either knew how to avoid cameras or he came in from the window…"

At those words, Enzan snapped out of his thoughts and looked towards the window. They were at the second floor, so it was impossible for Netto to climb in from the ground unless he used a long ladder that he would be unable to lift by himself, and getting in from the roof would be pointless because he would have to enter the school to reach it.

He walked to the window and pulled it to the side, finding it open. His eyes narrowed and his fingers tapped onto the windowsill as his mind started to connect what he knew together to form one theory, albeit as crazy as it was.

He didn't know why, but he was sure that Forte had helped Netto get inside by flying him up there. He hadn't personally seen the black navi leave SciLabs, but Yuichiro had mentioned that he had left his office-laboratory shortly after eating and hadn't come back until late at night.

He would have to talk with Forte and ask him about Netto again, but there was the problem of making him talk without annoying him. The fact that the navi was somewhat peaceful at the moment didn't mean that he would be happily chatting away with him.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it in a slow sigh, Enzan closed the window and returned to Yuichiro's side. He watched the man exchange a few more words with his son's navi then replace the PET in his pocket. "We should go back to SciLabs," he said tiredly. The sleepless nights spent to muse on Forte and the whereabouts of his son were starting to catch up with him. "There is nothing more for us here."

"Then we're coming with you," Meiru declared after being silent for so long. She and the other two kids had limited themselves on watching them. "If Netto is back into the city, then we're going to help find him, right?"

In response to her question, Dekao crossed his arms and nodded while Yaito walked up to Enzan and pointed a finger at his nose. "Don't you think you have a right to keep us out," she said with a determined expression on her face. "Netto is our friend and we're not going to sit back on this."

Yuichiro placed a hand onto the blonde girl's shoulder and smiled. "Thanks, it means a lot to me, but you shouldn't get involved this time," he said as he looked at her in the eyes. Seeing her resolve, however, he paused for a few seconds before sighing in resignation. "Alright, you can come to SciLabs. But… promise me that you won't do anything reckless."

The trio of kids nodded in agreement and moved to the side so that Yuichiro could walk out of the classroom. Once Meiru and Dekao followed him, Yaito flashed a victorious smile at Enzan before following her friends with a gentle, happy humming.

Enzan watched her disappear through the door, then sighed. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

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* * *

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Netto was bored out of his mind. Sitting all day in the darkest corner of his father's laboratory-office wasn't his idea of how to spend his free time. Even Forte was starting to get restless, so, after weeks of coexistence, there was no need for the boy to ask if the navi wanted to take a stroll around.

Careful to not reopen the healing gash on his side, Netto stood up and floated towards the door, opening it and warily looking at the wide corridor and the large boxes piled at the walls.

_I don't pick up any kind of energy signature…_ Forte said after a few seconds. As soon as the boy had seen the cargo, he had instantly felt his suspiciousness regarding it. Having learned to trust the kid's instinct, he had quickly scanned the boxes for anything potentially harming.

Netto hummed under his breath but didn't move from the doorway. "Still…" his eyes narrowed and he slowly floated to a stack of boxes to his right. His hands moved past his cloak and grabbed the lids of a large box, opening it and peering inside.

"Hell!"

But before he could bolt towards the safety of his father's office, green energy crackled to life and he was dragged back towards the center of the corridor exactly in the middle of four green converter-like devices that he came to call 'Leeches'. In a desperate attempt to escape their clutches, he grabbed the doorframe with a hand and tried to pull himself away.

"Increase the output! Don't let him get away!"

Netto recognized the voice belonging to one of the older scientists of SciLabs before he gasped in pain and lost his hold on the doorframe. Still not wanting to lose so easily, he used all his strength to fight the pull and the searing pain coming from his side as his movements disturbed his wound.

The pull eventually became too strong and he was dragged backwards until he was pinned in midair by an invisible force. He growled in anger and looked past his shoulder at the approaching bunch of scientists that wore wide and victorious smiles on their lips.

While the others started to pry open the cardboard of the boxes that hid the four Leeches and maneuver them onto four small trolleys, one of them, an old man that seemed to be the leader of the small group, walked in front of Forte and observed the trapped navi with a critical eye. "Not so powerful now, are you?"

_Striking when the human opposing them is away…_ Forte sneered, feeling burning hate and anger swell within him. _They are such filthy…_

"…cowards." Netto hissed in fury as the mental boundary between him and Forte broke again. He shot forwards his right arm and grabbed the scientist's wrist into an iron grip, then he used his left hand to hoist the old man a foot into the air by the neck. The scientist's free hand grabbed the navi's left forearm and tried to pull it away from him.

Brown eyes became dark red and narrowed into tiny slits as they observed from behind the rim of his cape the man struggling with fear clearly visible on his face. Netto and Forte smiled and then, with a twist of their hand, the wrist of the scientist they were holding was broken with a loud snap.

When the man thought that he was going to choke because of the steadily increasing pressure at his throat, his colleagues increased the output of the green colored devices they had copied from the one Forte had destroyed. This made the navi howl in rage and convulse, with the end result of losing his grip on the scientist, who fell on the ground on his behind.

"Get him to the lab," the man hissed in pain as he cradled his fractured wrist. "We're going to crack him, see what makes him able to materialize in the real world and then we'll delete him."

.

* * *

.

The news of the attack at NetPolice's headquarters came when they were almost back to SciLabs. Enzan, having taken his own limo instead of Yaito's, was currently speeding towards the besieged building as fast as the driver could go. "As soon as we are there, take cover," the boy explained as he leaned to the right to not be thrown against the side of the car when it took a sharp turn.

The driver nodded and floored the pedal for several seconds until he made the car screech to a halt a block away from Enzan's destination. "Good luck, sir," he said with a small smile as he watched the boy jump out of the car and run towards the large crowd of viruses in the distance.

As he ran, Enzan heard the car start up again and leave. "Without Netto and Rockman, it's just you and me, Blues," he said as he glanced up at the sky. Meijin would activate the Dimensional Area Generator as soon as he was within range of the viruses.

"Those viruses aren't a real threat," the navi replied from his PET currently holstered against his operator's belt. "Those navis, however…"

Enzan nodded as he remembered how Forte had barely won against the white navi and had been caught by surprise by Ninja. "They pose a real threat," he said, frowning. If the black navi, who was the strongest of the Undernet, had troubles defeating one of them, then he knew that he would have to be extra careful.

Stopping as close to the viruses as he could, Enzan took out his pet and readied his synchro-chip, and, as on cue, the Dimensional Area began to appear. When the dome had successfully been established, the boy inserted the special chip and initiated Cross Fusion with his navi. Light enveloped them and when it faded, Enzan had become Blues.

"Let's get this done quickly," the boy said as he summoned his default blade and charged towards the NetPolice headquarters. The viruses never saw him coming as he quickly moved through the enemy ranks and cut their numbers. Sidestepping the occasional attack and using powerful chips for the larger viruses to take them down in one hit, within ten minutes the army was reduced to a bunch of scattering critters.

"Impressive," a voice suddenly spoke from behind the boy's back, alerting him of the new presence and making him twirl around with his sword at the ready. Blue eyes locked onto a white humanoid figure and Enzan tensed, preparing for a difficult battle as he recognized the sword-type navi that had fought against Forte during the previous virus attack. "You deserve the reputation people have given you. However, I believe you will lose today. Your friend gave me the name Paladin."

The sword attack came fast and Enzan barely parried it with his own blade and a grunt. No wonder Forte had been hard pressed to defeat this navi… his swings were powerful despite his lean form. "You know where Netto is? Tell me!" he demanded as he pushed his opponent away and readied himself for another attack.

Which came as fast and violently as before. "You don't know?" Paladin asked in amusement. "I have to give him credit… he stays hidden and sends you random messages without you noticing until he is already gone. He truly has learned to be crafty when he needs to be…"

Laughing to himself, the white navi swung a second time and sent Enzan flying against the external wall of the NetPolice's headquarter, visibly denting it. The boy grunted loudly and staggered once he landed on the ground.

"But today his game of hide and seek has come to an end," the white navi said as he advanced towards the dizzied boy. "As you fight so valiantly to protect the people within this building from me and the viruses at my command, my comrade is preparing to strike."

Enzan's eyes widened in shock at the revelation. "A… decoy attack…?"

Paladin suddenly appeared right in front of him and flashed a wide grin. "Exactly!" he exclaimed. "I've been sent here to keep you busy. Maybe kill you in the process, but that would be a waste in my opinion. Dark Mu is looking for strong people like you."

Enzan instinctively raised his sword and swung, then jumped away from harm's way. "Dark Mu? That's the name of the organization that has been seeking navis to add to their ranks and has been hunting both Netto and Forte?"

For a split second, the boy had the sudden feeling that he knew where his friend was, but there was no time to stop and think about it at the moment. He would have to do it later when the white navi wasn't trying to cut him in half.

Dodging to the left and finding an opening in his opponent's attack, Enzan lunged with his sword. Instead of hitting Paladin, however, the blade landed on a white shield. The two struggled for a few seconds before parting and circling each other.

After a few seconds, the two met with clashing swords, then did a fine dance of attacks, parries and dodges. "Is your boss called Osamu Michiro?" Enzan asked after a while as he pushed his blade against Paladin's.

The white navi chuckled and increased the strength he was putting on his sword, forcing his opponent to slightly backtrack. "I see you did your homework, boy," he said with a light grunt. He had to admit that the official NetBattler was stronger than he had expected. "Yes, our leader is Osamu Michiro, but he prefers being called Emperor."

"How cliché…" Enzan replied as he moved to the side unexpectedly and let his opponent stumble on his steps. "So, what he wants from Netto?"

Paladin straightened and turned around, rushing at the boy and slamming his sword against Enzan's. "He has something that belongs to the Emperor," he replied as he retracted his blade and did a series of fast stabs that his opponent was hard pressed to dodge. "And he wants it back at all costs!"

As Paladin swung to slash the boy's chest, Enzan jumped away and summoned a Variable Sword. "Blues, contact SciLabs, tell them that there is going to be another attack somewhere else soon, if not already ongoing," he said as he readied one massive Sonic Boom attack. "Tell them that they are after Netto."

_It's no good, Enzan-sama,_ the navi replied with a grimace in his voice. _There is a jamming signal being broadcasted from somewhere._

Enzan gritted his teeth and swung his Variable Sword, letting the Sonic Boom fly towards his enemy, who easily dodged it by jumping to the side. The energy slash didn't stop, nor followed him, and went crashing against a small building next to the NetPolice's headquarter, cutting a corner.

"He's playing with us…" Enzan growled as he watched the piece of building hit the ground with a thunderous crash. "Blues, try to locate the jamming signal. We need to contact SciLabs as soon as possible."

_Yes, Enzan-sama._

As Blues became busy in trying to locate the source of the jamming signal, Enzan jumped after Paladin and locked swords with him again, growling in frustration. The navi was an excellent swordsman, and he knew it.

"Soon," the white navi taunted, knowing that if Enzan lost his patience he would commit errors. "Your friend will be captured and we'll be back in posses of what he stole."

Enzan narrowed his eyes and delivered a kick to his enemy's side. Not expecting the sudden move, Paladin was unable to parry the attack and ended up flinching away. "I'm sure that if Netto was able to avoid getting caught by you until now," the boy replied to his opponent's taunts. "He will be able to get away again."

Paladin's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't be so sure, kid," he replied with an 'I-know-it-all' grin.

Enzan frowned at that and hoped that he and Blues were fast enough in dealing with the decoy attack or that Netto and SciLabs knew of the real attack and acted accordingly.

.

* * *

.

Having lost contact with Enzan as soon as the Dimensional Area had been deployed, Yuichiro bolted out of Yaito's limo as soon as this one screeched to a halt in front of SciLabs. Followed by the three kids, he ran past the still broken doors of the entrance and into the left corridor, directed towards the laboratory that controlled the Generator.

Meiru and the others were confused upon seeing the destruction the entrance hall had gone through, but refrained from questioning because they knew that the man had more pressing matters to attend to than explaining to a bunch of kids why the place was so trashed.

They came to a halt, however, when Netto's father almost screeched to a stop and threw his arms out. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded angrily.

In front of him a group of his colleagues were pushing around four trolleys carrying the same number of Leeches. Amongst them, suspended in midair, Forte was struggling weakly to free himself.

The old scientist, who sported an improvised bandaging to his left wrist, turned around and frowned. "Ah, doctor Hikari," he said as he walked up to the younger man. "We are just doing what we should have done as soon as he was brought here. And you will not interfere. Forte must be eliminated."

Yuichiro's eyes narrowed and his body tensed. "No," he declared, barely able to keep his anger at bay. "Not only you accused him of something he didn't do and tried to delete him just because he wasn't under your absolute control, but now, ten years later, you try to do the same even when he didn't lift a finger against us?"

Taken aback by Yuichiro's irate words, the older man remained silent for a few seconds before he straightened and cleared his throat with a gentle cough. "Look at this," he said as he lifted his broken wrist. "He did it."

"And who was the one that attacked first?" Netto's father replied quickly. "You were, weren't you? I bet that he was just wandering around _until _he stumbled in a trap _you_ came up with. You have to consider yourself lucky if he only broke your wrist…"

His brown eyes then moved from his colleague to the struggling navi and noticed how his attempts were getting weaker by the second. "Out of the way," he declared as he shoved the older man aside and walked towards one of the devices with a determined gait.

"Doctor Hikari, what do you think you are doing?" the older scientist asked as he followed Yuichiro. "This navi is dangerous! He must be eliminated!"

Yuichiro stopped and glared at the man with hidden fury in his eyes. "Dangerous, yes. But did you realize that if Forte wanted to destroy us all he would have already done so?" he then turned his attention back to the struggling navi and steeled himself. "Get out of the way. I'm going to do what I should have done ten years ago."

Before he could do anything, however, the wall exploded sending dust and debris everywhere. People ducked out of the way and peeked out of the safety of their improvised shelters only when things weren't flying. Yuichiro was the first to stand up and look at the navi standing between him and Forte. "You," he exclaimed as he recognized Ninja thanks to the description Enzan had given him.

Ninja looked at him briefly before he shifted his attention towards the black navi trapped by the four devices. "Well, I didn't expect that someone else would do the job for me," he commented as he walked towards Forte and ignored everyone else. "I'm not sure how you managed it, but I thank you for your hard work. Now I will be taking him back with me."

"Not if I have something to say about it," Yuichiro exclaimed as he rushed past the navi and rammed one of the devices, throwing it to the ground. For a moment nothing happened, but then sparks flew out of one end and the green surface dulled, signaling the deactivation of the Leech.

Realizing what the scientist was trying to do, Ninja bolted after him with his sword unsheathed and ready to strike. He was halted, however, when the remaining three devices exploded with a shower of green sparks and Forte was enveloped by a very thin layer of dark energy.

Everyone stopped in what they were doing and observed as the navi floated where he was. His face was hidden by the rim of his cloak and helmet and he appeared perfectly calm, but the aura he was giving off clearly stated that he was far from calm. After landing onto the ground, Forte's mouth was pulled into a deep frown and he walked towards the man that had dared to imprison him.

Knowing well to not get in the way of someone like Forte when he was beyond furious, Ninja quickly stepped to the side and let the black navi walk past him. His eyes narrowed and he sheathed his sword. "Looks like my plan failed. There is no way I can trap him again when he's out of control…" he muttered before he glanced past the terrified old scientist. "But I won't leave empty handed."

With a snap of his fingers, several Condor viruses materialized and flew towards the trio of shocked kids. There was no time for anyone to do something and as Yuichiro screamed at them to duck and hide, the viruses carried Meiru and the others away, quickly followed by a retreating Ninja.

Yuichiro stared at the hole in the wall the enemy had used to escape, then his attention was brought back as the colleague that had devised the trap to capture Forte screamed in pain. His brown eyes searched the old man and found him pinned against the wall by the black navi, who was bending his right arm behind his back at a very unnatural position.

When loud cracks filled the air, Netto's father shook himself out of his stupor and looked around himself. He had to find a way to calm Forte down, or people would start to die soon. One way was to try and talk some sense into the navi, but he didn't seem to be paying much attention besides breaking the man's arm as much as he could.

His eyes then traveled on Forte's upper left arm and noticed the still present bandaging. That gave him an idea, but he needed some time to get what he needed. "You," he called as he walked to the nearest young scientist and crouched down next to him. "I need you to run to the infirmary and grab some sedative. Quick."

Nodding his head, the young man stood up and bolted down the corridor, happy to go as far away as possible from the crazed navi, even if only for a short amount of time. After watching him go, Yuichiro turned around and stood up. "Forte," he called steadily as he slowly walked towards him. "Forte, stop, please. It's not worth it…"

At his words, Forte did pause for a brief moment. He knew that voice. Part of him wanted to follow its instructions, but the urge to punish the man that had hurt him was too strong. His hands tightened and bones started to crumble under the pressure as the navi planned to make the experience as much painful as he could.

Yuichiro winced as he heard the characteristic sound of the bones starting to break and his colleague's cries of pain. "Forte," he tried again, coming to a few feet from the navi's side and looking at him in the face. For the first time he could see his eyes and he briefly wondered why they were of a dark red when he remembered them to be of a ruby color. "Forte, I know he hurt you, but hurting and killing is not the right way to deal with things…"

The navi glanced at him briefly, then proceeded to ignore him. Yuichiro watched as Forte's cold eyes return to the old man he was holding against the wall. The fact that he wasn't attacking him meant that there was some level of recognition left into Forte, but it wasn't enough for him to be understood. He needed something to distract the navi with. Something sudden and unexpected…

His eyes scanned the corridor again and found the perfect source for a distraction in a case protecting the fire alarm's button from accidental activation. Slowly backtracking away from Forte to not alarm him, Yuichiro reached the device and smashed his fist through the thin plastic lid.

Normal lights dimmed and were replaced by a line of red ones that led towards the nearest exit while the alarm blared loudly and sprinklers came to life. Yuichiro's brown eyes returned to the navi and found him clutching at his head in pain while his colleague crawled away at his feet. Forte's shock didn't last long, however, and he started to launch orbs of dark energy at the nearest speakers to at least lessen the sound.

"Doctor Hikari!"

Yuichiro barely heard the young man's voice above all the chaos that the alarm and explosions were creating, but turned around and grabbed the offered small bottle of sedative and the still sealed syringe. "Thanks, take cover now!" he exclaimed as he quickly and professionally readied his 'weapon'.

Considering that Forte had only a partial flesh body, perhaps sedating him would be ineffective, but Yuichiro had no other idea of how to calm the navi down. Words seemed to only slow him down for a second or two, and fighting him would only result in him getting killed, not to mention that they had lost contact with Enzan as soon as the Dimensional Area was deployed.

After making sure that the liquid inside was free of bubbles and was enough to at least render Forte too tired to continue in his rampage, the young scientist charged towards the out-of-control navi and grabbed him at the neck from behind. "I'm sorry, Forte, but there is no other way…" he said as he inserted the needle into his side and pressed the small plunger.

The chemical didn't take long to take effect and soon Yuichiro found himself gently accompanying a barely conscious navi to the ground. He could still feel him tense and try to struggle against the sedative, but as he placed a hand onto Forte's shoulder to keep him down, he saw darkened red eyes close.

"I hope I can gain the upper hand for real this time and convince them to leave you alone," the man muttered to himself as he observed Forte. Because of being too busy with work, the navi being shrouded in his cloak most of the time or him being too busy treating his wounds, that was the first time he was seeing his appearance.

"Strange," he muttered as he moved his wet hair out of his glasses. Then his fingers traced the purple line running around Forte's emblem. "I don't remember him having this particular patterning…"

However, his musing was broken when Meijin ran around the corner and skid to a halt near his colleague. "Doctor Hikari, are you alright?" he asked as he observed all the damage to the corridor. It looked like a tornado had just passed through.

Yuichiro nodded as he hoisted Forte up into his arms. "Yes, but we need to talk. Now," he said as he carefully maneuvered through all the debris littering the corridor. "Have you managed to contact Enzan?"

Meijin nodded as he followed the older man. "Yes. As soon as the enemy navi left and the viruses were deleted, the jamming signal disappeared. Right now he is heading back here as fast as he can."

"Good," Yuichiro replied as he briefly glanced down at the navi in his arms and found a peaceful face looking back at him. "I need to talk with him too. Have him, Commissioner Kifune and his assistant Manabe reach me in the infirmary."

Giving another nod of understanding, the younger of the two scientists left Yuichiro's side in a hurry and turned left at the first intersection, leaving the man alone with his charge. "I know many will be against me, but I won't let them do the same mistake of ten years ago."

Forte might hate humans with a passion and he might desire their destruction, but it had been their fault if the black navi was like that, and Yuichiro intended to show him that not everyone was like the people that had once harmed him.

Maybe he was just acting to lessen all the guilt he felt towards Forte, but no matter what, he knew that it was the right thing to do for the navi.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Meiru, Dekao and Yaito are almost impossible to write. I spent more time on their tiny piece than the rest of the fic put together…

**Thaaaaanks** to Azure Euphoria for helping me out with the last part of this chapter. Thanks to her it came out better!

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine. And the plot. Plot is mine too.

Az.

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* * *

.

"It was a big mistake to create you so powerful and so free…"

Forte tried to ignore those words, but as much as he tried, that familiar voice filled with contempt made him wince in pain and made him huddle on himself. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, within that cage and with those cuffs on his wrists and ankles, but it felt long. Too long.

"You have caused too many problems since your activation," Cossack's voice filled the empty space again, making the two guards outside the cage snigger and nods in agreement. "You only deserve to be deleted."

Forte hid his face behind his folded legs and cringed. He hated him. Hated him for making him believe that he loved him for who he was, hated him for his betrayal, for agreeing to his deletion without a second thought. Yet, as much as he wanted to blast the man to smithereens, he couldn't lift a finger. Not because of the limiters they had imposed on him, but because he hurt too much to do more than wish for the pain to just go away.

But then things changed. He wasn't sure how, but everything became distant and he came to the realization that he was having yet another nightmare. One of the many he had during his ten years of wandering alone the Undernet.

"This is another nightmare, isn't it?" he asked, without looking up, to the presence that he could feel standing in front of him. He still felt hurt, but it was slowly fading away along with the memory of the dream, and the boy standing in front of him made him feel something he hadn't felt since he had abandoned SciLabs. It was… refreshing.

"Yup," Netto replied with his usual cheery voice. "You called again."

"You should stop invading my space, kid," Forte replied, not moving from where he was. "But… I have to admit that I can't hate you for your… annoying invasiveness…"

At those words, Netto sputtered indignantly and stomped a foot on the floor that oddly produced a slap instead of a thump. Ignoring the boy's words of protest at how he always came because he always called out for him, Forte looked up at the boy. And paused briefly before raising an eyebrow.

Netto was wearing nothing but his shorts and was dripping wet, had a harpoon in his right hand and a long rope in his left. Said rope was attached to a fish as big as a nicely sized warehouse while a large trail of water disappeared in the distance. Forte had to admit that was… so anticlimactic that he felt the corner of his mouth being pulled into an amused smile.

"So," Netto continued after a few moments of silence. "Who was the guy ranting about mistakes and… deletion?" he asked with a cringe at the last word. Why someone would want the death of someone else was something he would never be able to accept. Sure, he had deleted a lot of navis in the past, but that was because they were downright evil and desired nothing but to destroy, conquer and destroy more. Forte was different, though. Sure, he was always hungry for more power and had an obsessive hate towards humanity, but he never went to the surface of the net unless he wanted to exact revenge on someone or if there was something worthy of his time. Aka Rockman.

Red eyes met brown, but the black navi was unable to maintain the stare for long and shifted his attention to the absurdly giant fish that lay next to the boy. "Doctor Cossack," he whispered with a mixture of hate and pain in his voice. "The one who created me…"

"Cossack?" Netto asked as he rubbed his chin with his right hand, the motion causing the fish to jerk with a squishy sound. "The name is familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it…" he paused for several long moments, humming gently as he tried to recall where and when he had encountered the name. "Ah, well... it'll come back. Eventually…"

Netto then discarded the rope he was holding and extended his hand towards Forte. "So, are you going to sit there forever, or do I have to drag you up?"

Forte's eyes narrowed and he stood up, unconsciously destroying his restrains as he came so close face to face with the boy that forehead and helmet almost bumped together. "The fact that we coexist in the same body doesn't mean that it entitles you to do as you wish, kid," he growled angrily.

Netto grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Now _that's_ the Forte I know," he replied, completely ignoring the navi's death glare.

Forte had the sudden urge to either scream in frustration as loudly as he could or tackle the boy to the ground and try to strangle him without killing himself in the process. "I _hate_ you," he hissed.

"Uh uh," Netto replied as his grin widened and he was hard pressed to not laugh. "Sure, Forte. Sure."

.

* * *

.

Yuichiro wasn't sure how long he had been sitting at the desk in the infirmary analyzing data and occasionally stealing a glance at the black navi laying out cold on one of the two beds. After he had brought Forte into the room, he had busied himself into checking his wounds for a while, in particular the one on his right side. That was when he had truly noticed that the navi had an actual heartbeat and that he was breathing. Just like a human. For a moment he had the sudden urge to examine Forte thoroughly, but then he had decided against it as doing so would break the weak trust the navi had for him.

Rubbing his forehead, Yuichiro sighed. "I still feel like I'm missing an important piece of the puzzle…" he muttered as he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. Perhaps the "code" Forte had once mentioned to Blues was what made his data recreate a human body to such details that he had working organs and flowing blood, even if the latter dematerialized as soon as it lost contact with his body.

The door hissed open and, after replacing his glasses on his nose, Yuichiro watched as Enzan walked into the room with a frown on his face. "Even after we officially declared Forte to be an ally, even after officially ordering them to stay as far away from him as possible, they still demand for his elimination," the boy growled as he sat into a chair in front of Yuichiro's desk.

"They are not taking it well, aren't they?" the man asked as he moved his eyes from Enzan to the door a few times before setting onto the monitor displaying the few observations on Forte he had made. He stared at it for a while, hoping that the data would suddenly make sense, then sighed and leaned back onto his chair. "Have you found where Meiru and the others have been taken?"

Enzan shook his head dejectedly. "No, but they made a public announcement an hour ago about being the rightful rulers of the planet and warning that whoever tried to stop them would be quickly taken care of. Meijin is trying to track down the source, but they really did a good job in masking it…"

Yuichiro's eyes saddened. "And Netto is right in the middle of it…" he murmured more to himself than to the boy sitting across the desk. "I just hope that he got away from whatever ambush Dark Mu prepared for him while you were busy with the decoy attack, Enzan," his eyes then traveled to the motionless navi on the bed, observing him for long seconds. He hadn't moved a single finger since he had been forced to sedate him.

Seeing Netto's father glancing at Forte, Enzan turned his head to look at him too. "We should take advantage of his stasis and examine him," he said after a while with a light frown on his mouth. "Find out what is keeping him materialized in the real world…"

Yuichiro frowned and took a deep breath. "I thought about it, Enzan," he replied as he gently drummed his fingers on the desk. "Forte will not like to be examined so deeply while he's in stasis. As much as I'd like to find answers, a deep scan on him is only going to anger him, and last time someone angered him, well… he was lucky to find himself with just a lot of broken bones."

A light groan attracted the two and they watched as the previously still form of Forte started to twitch as the sedative started to wear off. "As much as I wish to know why he's here, why he can materialize without a Dimensional Area and where my son is, we have to wait," the man said as he stood up and approached the waking navi. "Forte will talk when he is ready…"

Enzan's eyes narrowed and he watched Yuichiro reach Forte and speak to him in a soft voice. He could see the navi fight against the weakness brought by the sedative and sit up, with one hand grabbing the edge of the bed and the other holding the scientist's outstretched arm for support. Deciding that Forte would be unable to retaliate violently if he confronted him, the boy stood up and walked in front of the navi.

Resolute blue eyes stared at a hidden face, wishing he could just grab Forte's head and yank it upwards so he could stare at him in the eyes. "When will you talk?" he asked simply, observing every small move the navi would do. There was a moment where Forte stilled, then his head tilted a little to the side, probably in thought, before he frowned. For a moment Enzan thought he had seen his mouth twitch.

"Enzan," Yuichiro pleaded as he used his free hand to keep Forte from falling, knowing that after waking up from a sedation people would be weak and dizzy. He was actually amazed that his hastily put together plan had worked so well despite Forte not being a human. "Just… give him time."

Before Enzan could express his reasons for wanting to confront Forte, the door hissed open and he, Yuichiro and the navi looked up as Meijin walked inside the infirmary with a grimace on his face. "No good," he said as he slowly approached the three, still not really sure how to behave with a dangerous navi like Forte when awake. Especially after his rampage. "I was unable to track down the source of the transmission…"

Yuichiro sighed and rubbed his eyes, not letting his glasses fall off thanks to years of practice. "That means we have no lead on where they took Meiru, Yaito and Dekao…" he muttered. He then glanced at the hand grasping his forearm and frowned. For a moment he had felt the navi's fingers twitch and tense…

"Dark Mu left this behind, though. It's encoded," Meijin continued as he brought up an unmarked PET and displayed a written message. "But there was a piece of paper with Forte's name on it…"

Three pair of eyes instantly focused onto the black navi and watched as he frowned and reached for the PET with his left hand. However his progress was halted by Enzan, who grabbed his wrist and tried to see past the cover provided by the helmet. "So I was right," he said as he narrowed his eyes at him. "You are in contact with Netto. Where is he? And why are you acting so… off? Since we found you, you haven't looked at anyone in the eyes. That's not like you."

There was a moment of pause where everyone felt the tension rise to almost impossible levels, then Forte wrenched his arm away from Enzan's grasp and yanked the PET out of Meijin's hand before he made his way to the door and disappeared behind it with a slightly wobbly gait.

"Let me talk to him," Yuichiro said with a tired smile, patting Enzan's shoulder as he walked past him. "Maybe I can work something out…"

.

* * *

.

Meiru was far from happy. Cold, tired and hungry was not how someone should treat a lady. She would have kicked who had kidnapped her and her friends if they weren't materialized navis that could easily take a bomb in the face and not wince. Not that the navi that had accompanied them to their room looked particularly strong.

Huffing and kicking the closed door, the red haired girl turned around and examined the room they were in. It was bare save for a few crates at one of the farthest corners from the door and a single light on one of the walls. The floor was made of rough concrete and was so uncomfortable that they couldn't even sit down and rest for a bit. On top of it all, there were no electronic devices in the room save for their PETs.

Dekao, despite the cold floor, had sat down near the door and was huddling to try to keep himself warm while he watched Yaito walk to the crates and lift one of the lids. "Empty…" she murmured as she released the lid to let it fall back into place with a loud bang.

When the younger girl returned to her friends' side, Meiru let her eyes scan the room once again in search of something, anything that could help them escape. That was when her eyes landed on a grate in the wall near the ceiling. It was small, but it was large enough for one of them. "Yaito?" she called as she walked to the wall and looked up at the air-duct opening. "I think you can fit in there and find a way out."

Yaito looked at the grate and hummed gently. The idea of crawling through a dusty and cramped airduct wasn't something she liked to do, but after all the adventures she had with Netto and the others, and the fact that she didn't want to be stuck in that empty and cold room for who knows how long, prompted her to nod. "I can do it," she said as she crossed her arms and let her forehead glint in the dim light coming from the only light located on the opposite wall. "I'll get out and open the door for you guys!"

"Oh, Yaito-sama," Glyde spoke from his pet with admiration. "You are such a courageous young woman!"

Dekao stood up and walked towards the empty crates. "I'll help you out," he said as he grabbed one of the large wooden boxes and started to drag it under the grate in the wall. "No way I'm going to sit around and do nothing. I'll show these guys that messing with me is not a good idea!"

With their navis cheering them on, the three friends positioned the crate where it was needed to be and worked together to remove the grate covering the airduct so that Yaito could crawl inside.

.

* * *

.

"Forte, wait!" Yuichiro called as he rushed after the retreating cloaked figure. After people had quickly left, the corridor they were in was deserted and it was easy for the man to catch up with the still dazed navi. "Please, wait…"

Forte stopped and turned around to calmly regard the scientist and Yuichiro relaxed slightly as he felt no negative vibes directed at him. He looked down at the navi's hidden face for a second then his eyes softened. "I… I know you have no obligations with us, especially after what happened to you ten years ago…" he said, wincing at the memory and at how his own words made him feel guilty. "There is no excuse for me to not have done more to help you, but… will you help me?"

For a moment Netto had the sudden urge to spill all his secrets and hug his father, reassuring him that he would help. What stopped him, however, was the sudden feeling that he felt coming from Forte. The navi hadn't spoken, but the boy had clearly felt him shudder and become wary of his father.

"Forte?"

After becoming used to being called with his partner's name, Netto slightly tilted his head in a silent way of telling the man in front of him that he was listening. A motion that didn't go unnoticed.

Yuichiro tried to catch a glimpse of the navi's hidden eyes. "Are… are you going to find Netto?" he asked in a soft voice, scared that Forte would leave without giving an answer. Long moments of silence passed and the man sighed and slumped his shoulders, saddened. He was so close to find his son, yet so far away from him… Forte was the key to a lot of answers, but he couldn't bring himself to press the navi for information. Even if it hurt him inside.

"Forte, have you managed to access the PET?" Netto asked in a faint whisper as he lifted his arm out of the shrouding of his cape and held the unmarked PET up so that he and his father could see it. His hand was glowing very faintly with Forte's signature energy and, as this was the very first time they tried to connect to a device like that, he felt really weird upon feeling a tingling running along his arm and reach his brain. The navi had told him that what he was feeling was the transmission of data.

_Yes,_ Forte replied as he deleted a security blockage with ease before scanning the data contained within the PET. _It's slower than browsing it in first person, but accessing it was mere child's play. Decoding it, however, is going to take a while longer…_

"Fair enough," Netto replied as he watched the holographic screen of the PET appear in midair and display various popup windows with scrolling text in them. His eyes then shifted to his father, softening.

_Aren't you going to tell him..?_ Forte idly asked as he focused on cracking a particularly tough code. Yet, even if he was calm and collected as ever, he knew that the boy could feel the apprehension hidden behind his mask.

Netto watched as a few windows on the floating display disappeared and were replaced with others. "Don't know…" he muttered, refraining from shrugging in front of his father. The man was watching him with interest and was probably trying to understand what he was whispering. "Maybe it's not the right time to tell him…"

There was silence for a few seconds then, as Forte finally cracked the last code that stopped them from viewing whatever message Dark Mu had sent them, all the windows on the display disappeared and a large and blinking 'access granted' became visible.

_Is it because of…?_

Even if Forte had left his sentence incomplete, Netto knew what he was referring to. It was whatever had happened after they had been caught for the second time by the Leeches. The last thing they remembered was seeing that old scientist standing in front of them, then everything faded away into oblivion until they found themselves sharing another dream. Whatever had happened during that black out was stopping the boy from telling the truth to his father.

"Probably…" Netto replied as he watched the 'access granted' blink one last time before the PET's menu appeared. There was no navi within the device, so Forte remotely navigated through it until he came across a file with his name on it.

Yuichiro, having respectfully waited in silence and ignored as best as he could the navi's faint mutterings, turned his eyes from the cloaked figure to the holographic screen as a new window appeared. For a moment the video file showed nothing but black, but then, after a brief display of white noise, the navi known as Ninja appeared.

"Greetings, oh Black Fury," he said, slightly bowing his head in respect to the powerful creature that Netto and Forte formed. "I do respect you, for you are powerful and Dark Mu's law is that only the strongest have a right to rule. Unfortunately, orders are orders and I am forced to bring to your attention the fact that you are in possession of something that our emperor wishes to have back. That is why I captured the boy's friends and plan to use them in what I believe is an equal exchange. You can find the coordinates and the time of our meeting within this PET.

As for the kid that always manages to elude our best efforts in capturing him, I would kindly ask of you to deliver these words to him, but I believe that the same message has already reached his attention," the navi was purposely being vague upon mentioning their identity, probably because he was amused by SciLabs not knowing that Netto was right under their nose. He then bowed his head again. "With best regards, Ninja out."

It took a lot of effort for Netto to not crush the device he was holding when the video ended.

_It's clearly a trap…_ Forte commented, feeling anger coming from his host for the first time since the beginning of their journey together. _Only a fool wouldn't notice it..._

"I know," Netto grunted out, perhaps a bit too loudly as he noticed his father raise an eyebrow at him. "But they'll regret pulling this dirty trick. Black Fury's word."

After getting the coordinates from the PET, Netto wordlessly handed the device to a confused Yuichiro and approached the nearest window, opening it. He climbed on the windowsill, ready to take flight, but was stopped as his father placed a hand on his right forearm.

"You're going to find my son, aren't you?" Yuichiro asked as he watched the half hidden face of the cloaked navi for any sign of emotion. "I… if you find him, please, tell him that we're all waiting for his return," he paused briefly and lifted his hand from Forte's arm. "And take care. The wound on your side is almost healed, but it could still reopen…"

The man never received a verbal reply, but the small smile that Forte displayed was enough to make him feel relieved and, after a brief nod of his head, he watched as the navi took flight into the early afternoon sky, directed where only he knew he could find his son.

_...Another human facade...?_ Forte asked to himself, not realizing that he had said that aloud and unsure at what to do with the genuine display of concern from Netto's father. For a strange reason, he was unable to truly believe in the fact that the man could be faking his concern. Maybe it was because he could feel the strong trust the boy had for him that he was willing to give him a chance… even if he still felt really unsettled in trusting a human that wasn't Netto. Which was odd because he couldn't remember when he had started to trust the kid as much as he was doing lately…

"He's not faking it, Forte," Netto replied as he grabbed the two pieces of the scarf hanging in front of him and tied them behind his neck so that they wouldn't get in the way if he needed to battle. "My dad doesn't lie to anyone."

There was silence for a while as Forte pondered the boy's words, then Netto broke it as he sighed. "By the way, Forte," he said as he reached back and tugged at one of the long strands of cloth flapping wildly behind him. "Can't you get rid of these? It's annoying to have to tie them out of the way every time we get a new cloak…"

The navi hummed gently for a few seconds as he checked the data he always used to summon the cloak. _I tried a few times to manipulate the data,_ he grunted unhappily to himself rather than explain it to his host. _But every time I think I get the detail deleted from the coding, it just regenerates the next time I summon it again…_

"Great. As if we didn't have enough problems already…" the boy groaned, slumping in the air.

Netto then landed on the roof of a building and looked at the country in the distance as Forte displayed a map of the zone and highlighted a particular point near a lake with the time of the meeting next to it. They only had six hours to form a plan before they were forced to either take action or ignore the veiled threat Dark Mu had sent to Netto. In either case, the boy knew that he could count on Enzan, Meijin and his father to come up with their own idea, and just maybe he should go back and hear that plan out before doing anything.

For the moment, however…

Netto looked at the street below and narrowed his eyes. "I want curry, but how do I get it…?"

_Bill that father of yours._

Ignoring the sarcastic way Forte had supplied the advice, the boy displayed a wide grin that would have unnerved anyone that saw it. "Now _that's_ a wonderful idea!"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** This was such a troubling chapter! Especially the first scene and the part where Yuichiro meet the delivery guy… he, Forte and Netto literally rebelled on me… thanks to Azure Euphoria for getting me past these particularly nasty blocks!

And you know what? Meiru, Yaito and Dekao were nice to me this time. They let themselves be written easily.

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine. And the plot. Plot is mine too. Kindly refrain from stealing it.

Az.

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* * *

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Having decided on the best place to both order and bill his father for the aforementioned curry, Netto had headed back to SciLabs and was now floating through the corridors to reach Yuichiro's personal laboratory with people nervously backing away and fleeing hurriedly in sheer terror at his passage.

This created a conflict in Netto because, despite being greatly saddened at the fact that everyone was scared of him, now no one would ever try to harm him and Forte like they had tried to do with the Leeches. Now he wouldn't have to watch his back as often, although he was still wary when people that he didn't know well were around.

Still not entirely sure why there was all that hate between his partner and SciLabs, Netto turned a corner and came face to face with the same old scientist that had the bright idea of using the Leeches on him. The two stopped and the boy felt as if times halted with them as they warily regarded each other.

"_You…_" Netto hissed, unconsciously speaking exactly what Forte wanted to say.

The man, with a cast covering his entire left arm and a medical collar on his neck, backed away. His face morphed into a mask of pure terror. "Stay… stay away from me, monster!" his voice trembling as he stuttered, trying not to trip on his own steps. "Don't come any closer!"

Netto and Forte watched as the man turned around and ran away as fast as his sore body allowed him. "What…?" the boy asked softly, confused by the scientist's reaction to his presence. "Is… did I do that, Forte?"

The navi remained silent for a few seconds as he felt the boy's guilt. _He tried to kill us, _Forte replied neutrally, not remembering what had happened but still presuming how things went. _He had it coming._

The boy's eyes softened and he looked down at the floor. "I could have killed him…" Netto replied in a low voice. "Does that make me a monster?"

Netto felt that the navi was on the verge of snorting. But for some reason Forte refrained from doing so as he kept his voice calm. _Does it matter? He should count his blessings that we __**didn't**__ kill him._

"Still…" the boy felt the guilt claw at his insides like a ravaging beast. Without realizing, he resumed to float down the corridor at a very slow pace. Nearing the intersection, he turned the opposite direction he had seen the man disappear into. "What if I really did kill him?"

Cornered by questions that he had no real answer to, Forte let out a low warning growl. _It didn't happen,_ he replied steadily despite his increasing annoyance at the boy's guilt. _Enough of this._

Netto cringed at the navi's harsh words, but the verbal slap he received woke him out of his self pity. Forte was right. It hadn't happened, so he shouldn't be too worried about it. Yet, he couldn't help but feel really troubled at how he could black out and easily harm anyone within range. "We have to get a hang on that," he muttered eventually, eyes losing their sadness and shining with determination. "It's not good to lose control like that… not even for us. Dark Mu could easily take advantage of our… mindless rampage…"

Returning to his usual self, Netto floated onwards and reached the intersection, turning left in the direction of his father's office. He just hoped that the delivery system of the curry shop he was going to phone would be fast enough to come before the meeting time with Dark Mu.  
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* * *

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Enzan looked down at himself, perplexed. He wasn't sure whether Rockman's idea would work, but he had to admit that doctor Hikari and Meijin were doing an exceptional work both in speed and quality as the suit he was currently wearing reproduced Forte's in every detail. People that didn't know any better would mistake him for the black navi if it were not for his lack of some parts that were still being produced.

Meijin had informed them that the helmet was the hardest to reproduce, where all the other pieces, like the armguards and the golden colored leg-guards had taken only an hour to do. The two pieces on Forte's back had been designed to contain some sort of battery that would feed a network of small wires running along the inside of the suit to emit the black navi's energy.

Yuichiro approached the boy with a purple marker in his hand. "Meijin just told me that the helmet will be ready within the hour," he said as he started to paint Enzan's face, careful to not slip. "I sent a colleague to the cloth store to get the right material for the cloak, then all we need is to ask for Forte to charge up the batteries for the suit."

Enzan wasn't exactly happy with how things had gone, especially when people had looked at him as soon as they needed someone to act as Forte, but he was willing to go with the hastily put together plan and rescue Meiru, Dekao and Yaito. The only problem was that if they noticed that he was being too tall or saw his blue eyes… the plan would instantly fail and the hostages could get seriously hurt.

"How are you going to make him help us?" he asked as he closed his eyes and felt the marker gently run over his eyelids. "Even if he seems to be mellower, Forte is not the type of person to just help us out with something…"

Yuichiro spent a few seconds in silence as he moved to the boy's forehead. "Well," he eventually said as he examined his makeup work. "I'll find a way. I know that he'll at least listen to me before refusing."

Enzan's mouth slightly went downwards in a frown as he remembered how the dangerous black navi, the same that was known as "Black Shadow", "Messenger of Darkness" and "God of Destruction", was willing to suddenly listen to a human with no less then a weak excuse of needing their help with something. Forte was someone that never wanted help from others and solved things by destroying them.

His thought process was halted when the door hissed open and a lanky man walked inside, looking around in nervousness. His eyes briefly stopped on Enzan and, after muttering something about stumbling into some sort of masked party or one of those conventions where people dressed up as their heroes, he turned to stare at the scientist standing next to the boy with a purple marker in his hand.

"Are you doctor Hikari Yuichiro?" he asked politely and watched as the man he had addressed nodded. "The kid dressed as a scary navi down in the lobby told me that you would pay for his order…"

Yuichiro blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Kid dressed as a scary navi..?" for a moment he was confused, but then he felt like literally smacking his forehead as he remembered that there was actually someone that would fit the description. "Ah, yes. Must be Forte…"

Pocketing the marker and walking up to the man, he grabbed the parcel and looked at it. "He must be hungry…" he muttered as he let his eyes idly wander up and down the list. "Three portions of curry, ramen, a yakisoba and shuumai…"

Then things just… suddenly froze as he felt that he was really close to a solution…

He looked up at the delivery man who was already proceeding to leave. "W-Wait! Can you tell me more about the… kid dressed as a scary navi…?"

The man turned to look at the scientist with obvious confusion. "Hmm? What about him?"

"Please… Can you tell me anything about him?" Yuichiro wasn't particularly sure on what he was trying to find, but something struck him as strange. Besides the strangely similar taste in food to his son, Forte would never rely on a human, especially to do something as trivial as paying a tab for a meal.

The man sighed at the troublesome request. It wasn't in his line of work to go around spewing information on other people, but as the payer of the food, the scientist had a right to know who exactly he was paying the food for. Taking out his PET, the delivery man clicked a few buttons to bring up the order record. "Let's see… He called using this number."

Yuichiro immediately recognized the number as his own, and prodded the man for more information. With another sigh, the delivery man searched his memory for the face of the kid in the navi costume.

"He looked like any other goofball kid to me. Let's see… a bat eared helmet… a cloak…" The man snapped his fingers as he remembered a few key details. "Oh yeah! And he almost threw me to the ground because of his eagerness to get the bag with the order. He was muttering to himself a lot, too. Kids these days…" he paused briefly and pocketed his PET. "The strangest thing, however, was how suddenly he changed moods. At first he was… I don't know… giving off this really uncomfortable vibe that made me wish I was as far away from him as I could, but as soon as he saw me, well… the uncomfortable feeling just disappeared…"

After thanking the man for his time and watching him walk out of the room, Yuichiro hummed in thought. From what the delivery man had told him, Forte had acted really out of character for a moment. That made him feel like he was really close to an answer to a question, but at the same time he was unable to grasp it.

"Something's up, isn't it?" Enzan asked from where he was standing, scratching an itch on his left arm. Wearing that kind of suit was totally different than "wearing" the one of his navi. While the second felt like a second skin that would never hinder his movements, the first kept pulling at points when he moved and after a while it became really uncomfortable.

Yuichiro turned around and nodded. "I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I feel that I'm really close to a solution. All I need is some time to sort things out," he commented as his mind quickly went over what he knew. Forte liking the same things Netto loved to eat, his mellower attitude towards him, Meijin and Enzan, his willing contact with his son and their supposed partnership against Dark Mu. Then there were the smaller details, like the navi never showing his eyes, him muttering to himself on more than one occasion…

At first he had written that off as quirks that Forte had because of his disorientation due to his sudden materialization and not knowing how that had happened, but now… now he still couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something that really bothered him, and it wasn't the fact that Forte was supposedly in contact with his son.

"Shouldn't you confront him for an answer?" Enzan asked after a while as he watched Yuichiro tiredly rubbing his eyes. "It's been a while since we brought him back to SciLabs and all he did was just float around without saying a word."

The man nodded again and sighed. "I know, but for some reasons, Forte's moods are fairly unstable. You weren't here when it happened, but he…" he paused and frowned as he tried to come up with the right words to describe how the black navi had been when he almost killed his colleague. "Let's just say that he lost it…"

"Speaking of Forte, dad," Rockman's voice suddenly filled the air as the blue navi appeared on the monitor of a nearby computer. "I just checked Meijin's progress with the reproduction of his helmet, and he said that it's going to be finished in a few minutes."

Yuichiro looked at his son's navi and smiled. "Thank you, Rockman. Now all we need is to find Forte and hope he agrees with the plan…"  
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* * *

.

He wasn't sure what prompted him to look for his father. Maybe it was just that after eating his meal he had become too bored to just wander around and watch everyone run away, or maybe it was the wisp of a rumor he had managed to catch before the people talking saw him.

Apparently, Rockman had come up with a plan to have Enzan infiltrate the enemy's base and his father, Meijin and Enzan himself were working hard to enact it. However, when he entered the room, he wasn't expecting to see his friend wearing a suit with purple lines and Forte's navi emblem on his chest while the two men were fastening the armguards around his arms.

The white haired boy looked extremely uncomfortable, with his hair all pulled backwards with hair gel and a deep scowl on his face. Quickly, Netto lowered his head into the safety of his cloak as much as he could without being suspicious and bit his lip as he felt that he was really close to bursting into extremely loud laughs that would surely give him away. Another thing that helped him into keeping his calm demeanor was the fact that Forte was utterly insulted by what he had just seen and was almost sputtering in indignation.

"Ah, Forte," Yuichiro called as he finished fastening an armguard and turned around to regard the black navi. "Don't take this as an insult, but it was the only plan we could come up with such little time. We can't ask you to go to that meeting and risk having Dark Mu get a hold onto you and the code you have again."

Relieved to be distracted by the hilarious sight that Enzan provided, Netto turned his attention to his father and took a deep breath to steady himself. Forte was still grumbling in displeasure, but he had retreated into the back of his mind and was mostly keeping to himself.

Yuichiro, once he saw that the navi was giving him his full attention, went to the desk and grabbed two transparent batteries that had been masked to look like the two pieces on Forte's back. "Would you mind charging these up?" he asked offering the two objects to the silent navi. "It'll help Enzan fool Dark Mu into thinking he is you."

_This is outrageous!_

Almost rolling at Forte's increasing indignation, Netto reached out with one hand and took the two batteries. "Shut up," he idly muttered to his partner as he placed two fingers on the small connectors located on one end and started to slowly charge the devices with energy, being careful to not overdo it. Anything more than the batteries could handle and they would either blow up or melt…

_Don't tell me to shut up, kid,_ Forte hissed in reply, miffed that he couldn't blast everything to pieces as he wished to. Although he had come to accept the fact that he couldn't move their shared body until their Cross Fusion was cancelled, there were still times when he wished he could take over and do as he pleased.

"Stop being so cranky, Forte," Netto replied nonchalantly, way too much used to Forte's presence to fear him as everyone else did. Maybe once they were back to being two separate entities the navi would seek revenge for how he was being treated by the boy, but at the moment Netto felt perfectly safe and wasn't bothered by all the threats and promises of pain coming from his partner.

When he saw that the batteries were filled with dark energy, Netto cut off the feeding and offered the devices back to his father, who took them with a nod of his head to thank Forte for helping them out. "I also would like to take a look at your side," he said as he carried the batteries back to the table and placed them on it again. "Your wound should be healed by now, so I can take off the stitches."

Yuichiro's words had the effect of having Netto bring his left hand to his right side. After everything he had gone through in the recent days, he had totally forgotten about his injuries. They didn't hurt anymore, nor pulled uncomfortably at his skin, so that meant that his father was right in saying that they had fully healed.

Gently nodding his head once, the boy returned his attention back to Enzan and for a moment his hidden eyes met with his friend's. His blue eyes were watching him closely, probably wanting to catch him off guard and disclose all his secrets, and that made Netto smile in amusement from behind the rim of his cloak and wonder when someone would finally unmask him.

He wasn't exactly sure how he had managed to last that long, especially with people that knew him well like his father and Rockman, but he was betting a portion of curry that it was thanks to Forte's reputation that no one ever pestered him more that it was strictly necessary.

_A cheap imitation won't fool someone like Ninja… this human is too tall to pass as us._

Brought back to reality by Forte's observation, Netto floated closer to Enzan and took to circle him to observe his father and Meijin efforts. "Perhaps, but do you really think that Dark Mu will risk one of its best navis?" he asked as he observed the purple lines running down his friend's side. "They already risked Paladin once, and their plan failed. I don't think they are going for the same tactic once again when we could go to the meeting just to blast them to oblivion instead of saving my friends…"

Forte paused and had to admit to himself that the boy was right. Dark Mu was a fast learner, and unlike a lot of people, be them humans or navis, it never repeated its past errors and became craftier every time they encountered one of its emissaries. Last time they hadn't been captured once again thanks to Yuichiro, who had freed them from the Leeches by doing an almost suicidal dive onto one of the devices. Not that both he and Netto could remember it, but they had caught wind of it while aimlessly strolling through SciLabs after waking up from their forced sleep.

Leaving the navi to his thoughts, Netto stopped in front of Enzan and focused his attention onto the scarred emblem. Without even realizing it, his right hand traveled up to the one resting on his chest hidden behind the cloak and his fingers ran along the length of the slash, feeling the faint dip once again. If he focused, he could feel the memory of the pain Forte had once felt, and it stung. But what hurt more than that was the emotional pain he could suddenly feel coming from his partner.

The scar was a reminder of something horrible for Forte, and it was because of that that he was so full of anger and hate towards humanity.

_Don't…_

Forte's voice sounded distant and pained, but it was enough to snap Netto out of his trance-like status he had unconsciously gone into. Once back to the conscious world, the boy found out that he had unconsciously landed onto the ground and had his head slightly bowed. He wasn't sure how long he had been disconnected from reality, but he knew that even one second would count towards his discovery. Still clutching at the emblem on his chest, he turned around and floated to the farther corner to sit and watch the progress, cursing himself for getting so lost in his thoughts without even realizing it.

Forte's sudden change in demeanor, even if only for a couple of seconds, didn't go unnoticed by the other three occupants of the room. Enzan's eyes narrowed at the retreating figure, then turned to look at Yuichiro and the boy saw that the scientist was roughly thinking the same thing. The navi's sudden mood swing was not normal. Not even if he was still disoriented by his sudden materialization in the real world.

But further investigation would have to wait until Netto's friends were safe and Dark Mu was either defeated or laying low for a while.  
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* * *

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"I think we walked through this corridor a few minutes ago," Dekao whispered to his two friends as he looked around while he carefully trudged after the two girls in the lead. To him, the corridors they were moving through looked all the same save for the occasional indicative panel fixed on the wall.

Meiru turned her head to briefly glance at the large boy, then stopped at the edge of a corner to peek behind it for any enemy. "Roll is keeping tabs on our progress," she replied as softly as she could. "We might not have a map of the place, but we're making progress…"

"We just need to find the exit," Yaito continued as she peeked around the corner too before she walked into the new corridor and looked at it. It was as bare as the previous one, and it made her feel like they had ended up in the less used part of the base, or even the lowest level of the basement. "But we can't plug in to find that out or we could get caught," she admonished as she saw Dekao walk up to a panel with a plug in port.

The boy sighed and pocketed his PET again, muffling his navi's whines and protests. "If only we could materialize our navis, Gutsman would just beat them all and we could get out faster…"

If the boy wasn't so tall for her, she would have slapped Dekao on the back of his head. "Are you stupid?" she hissed, stomping a foot on the ground instead. "I suppose you haven't seen the news lately, have you?"

Dekao looked at her with a perplexed face and that made the girl sigh to release all her pent up frustration that she had accumulated since they had been kidnapped. "No, you didn't, did you?" before the boy could answer, she raised a hand and motioned for him to follow her and Meiru down the dark corridor. "I'm not sure how they did it, but a news station got footage on part of Enzan's fight against the first virus attack."

The boy looked down at Yaito with a raised eyebrow. "What about it?" he asked, not seeing the connection that the younger girl was hinting at. "It was a virus attack. Enzan had an easy time dealing with it…"

Yaito rolled her eyes but refrained from giving a sharp remark. "Yeah, he had," she replied as she remembered how well the boy had fought against the materialized viruses. "However, part of the footage also included another fight. Remember that black navi we saw at SciLabs? The one that Doctor Hikari freed from those restraints?"

Dekao slapped his fist onto his other hand. "Oh yes," he said as he remembered the navi in question and briefly shivered at the memory of those cold and furious dark red eyes. "He looked really angry when he was released…"

The blond girl nodded her head as the trio rounded a new corner and came to a better illuminated area of the base. It was still deserted of humans and navis alike, but they knew that they shouldn't let their guard down because of that. "The battle between him and the other white navi was short, but you could clearly see that they were both powerful. Now, I'm not saying that all the navis of this place are as strong as those two, but if only one with the same amount of power is here, I doubt that we could win even if we did a team action… not to mention that we have a limited supply of battle chips while the enemy doesn't seem to need them to fight…"

"Oh…" the large boy was unhappy to hear the truth that maybe Gutsman would be unable to win, but he understood that every single navi in that place was a danger if encountered. Especially since their navis were still relegated to their PETs. "Still, we would have an easier time if we could materialize Gutsman and the others…"

After their brief conversation, the three kids fell into silence as they slowly walked through the base while Roll kept an eye on the map she was doing as they progressed, Gutsman moped around and Glyde gave helpful advices on where to go. They went like that for perhaps half an hour, then they had to hide behind a door as they encountered two navis patrolling the zone.

"You think that the new batch is better designed than the older version?" one of them asked to the other, his voice sounding bored. "I've heard that the first version has some bugs that needed to be ironed out…"

"If that's true, then I want to get the second version as soon as I can," the second navi replied, grunting at the idea of having to rely on a bugged version of whatever they were talking about. "I don't want to have to deal with the Black Fury and then find myself unable to do something because I have a bugged Materializer."

"You got me there," the other navi tapped his emblem on his chest and murmured in displeasure. "The Black Fury is already powerful enough without us dematerializing because of random bugs… still, these things are useful… I would have never thought it possible for us to materialize in the real world without having to real on an operator or that… what was the name?"

"Dimensional Area," his colleague supplied as the two walked past the closed door where Meiru and her friends were hidden behind. "Both are so… limiting. With an operator you become just a spectator and you are used, with the Dimensional Area, even if you are free to move as you wish, you are stuck within it."

"Materializer, uh?" Yaito asked her friends as soon as the two navis had turned a corner and were out of hearing range. Slowly, she opened the door and peeked outside, walking out of the room only when she was sure that the corridor was empty. "Let's keep going, maybe we'll come across those Materializers too."

Nodding in agreement to the variation of their plan, the three walked down the corridor in the opposite direction the two guards had gone into. Turning corners, crossing bridges that were suspended over a seemingly endless dark abyss and hiding from the occasional navi patrolling the base, they eventually reached a busier section of the base.

Taking refuge behind some metallic crates, Meiru and the others kept their ears on full alert and listened to the chatting of the more frequent passersby. Some were talking about how Dark Mu was going to rule the world, some were talking about how rewarding it would be to praised by their emperor when the Black Fury was back in their clutches, but the most interesting of the rumors the kids heard was that the large supply of newest Materializers had been stacked in a storeroom with the label of "ST003".

At that, Yaito shook her head at how careless Dark Mu's followers were. Sure, they didn't know their prisoners had escaped and were sneaking around, but when you were part of a large organization, be it a game company or something out to conquer the world, you had to be at least cautious of everyone. Who knew if the guy standing next to you was a spy? It could happen…

And the map affixed on the opposite wall confirmed her thoughts. "Glyde," she said as she pointed her PET at the electronic display as soon as the corridor was clear of wandering navis. "Get a copy of that map without getting caught, then direct us to that storeroom. Those Materializers will come in handy soon enough."

"Yes, Yaito-sama," Glyde replied as he transferred himself to the device through the laser connection. Being a navi that dealt with high security every day, getting a copy of the map without tripping alarms would be easy.  
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* * *

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As the man watched the track outside the small window speed by while the plane landed, his mind went back to the past, remembering how happy he had been to have someone call a son and how pained he had been when he had been unable to help him when he really needed it. He wasn't sure why he had come back in search of him after so long, maybe it was the desire to reconnect, to help him now and maybe even live together again.

He had aged in the past ten years, not terribly since his wanderings around kept him on shape, but the man suddenly felt like he needed to tie things together and settle down once again. SciLabs had betrayed him and his son, but he could trust Yuichiro to do the right thing. He just hoped that he would be able to at least explain what had happened that fateful day before being killed. Ten years and he felt like his kid hadn't grown that much.

"Mister?"

The old man snapped out of his reverie and looked up at the young hostess with a kind smile. "Ah, sorry," he said with an embarrassed chuckle. "I was lost in my thoughts. Did we land already?"

The girl smiled and nodded. "Yes, all the other passengers are leaving. Do you need assistance with your luggage?"

The man unbuckled and stood up, dusting his casual brown dress. "Ah, no. Thank you, miss. I can manage," he replied as he opened the compartment above his head and took out a small bag. It contained all his belongings. Not much, but they were either necessary for his travels or important to his heart. "Thank you for your assistance, miss. I'll be going now."

be easy


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Read the end of the chapter to know about random authoress' fact.

Slow chapter again, but next one the pace will pick up so fast that you won't even see it. *insert evil mad laugh here*

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine. And the plot. Plot is mine too. Kindly refrain from stealing it.

Az.

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* * *

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The infirmary was completely silent as Yuichiro slowly unwrapped the bandage around Forte's middle, not wanting to reopen the wound if the cloth was stuck on dry blood. Sure, the injury seemed to be completely healed, but it was better safe than sorry. Especially with someone like his current patient.

"It looks ok," he muttered more to himself than to the navi when he finally uncovered the stitched cut. There was no infection and the data had reformed itself, cancelling any scar that would have marked the skin on any human. "All that's left to do is to take off the stitches. It might be a bit uncomfortable, though."

Brown eyes looked up at Forte's face and observed how the navi was disinterested at his work, almost as if he was absorbed into his own thoughts. Curious, Yuichiro slightly tilted his head forwards and caught the navi's usually hidden eyes. They were dark red as he had seen them during his rampage, but unlike before, now they were unfocused and just looking straight ahead. Forte remained impassive for a good few seconds, then he turned his head and looked at the man treating his wound, their eyes finally meeting for the real first time.

For a moment, Yuichiro felt something really familiar coming from the navi sitting on the bed in front of him, but then, when the man thought that Forte was going to say something really important, his dark red eyes looked away and he returned to be disinterested.

Biting his lip to refrain himself from speaking to the navi and ask him questions that he really needed answers to, the scientist resumed his silent work on Forte's side. He worked in silence for several long minutes, removing the all the stitches with a small pair of pliers and scissors until all that was left to do was to clean the loose dry blood away. Using a damp cloth, Yuichiro carefully rubbed the navi's side and observed how the data quickly reformed around the small punctures of the stitches and completely sealed them, rendering Forte's side as unmarked as it had been before he had been wounded.

Discarding the dirty cloth and moving to Forte's other side, Yuichiro moved the cloak aside and started to unwrap the bandage on the navi's upper left arm. He was careful in doing that, but as before, the injury had completely disappeared as if it had never really been there and all the man had to do was to give it a quick clean with a new cloth dampened with some water. "You're as good as new, Forte," the man commented as he took a step backwards and watched the silent navi with kind eyes.

Forte looked up at him again, his dark red eyes focusing for a brief moment before the navi jumped down from the bed and floated towards to the door, where he paused and turned his head to regard the man once again. "_Thanks,_" he muttered before leaving.

Yuichiro stared at the door as it closed behind Forte, then smiled. The thank you from the navi had been really soft, but it had been loud enough to reach his ears. "You're welcome," he replied in a murmur even if the other was already gone.

Shaking his head slightly and still smiling, the scientist started to collect the used tools and replace them where they belonged, or throwing them in the trash in the case of the used bandages and stitches. Despite the current crisis, despite the fact that three kids had been kidnapped and were held hostages, that Enzan was gone out in a really dangerous mission and that his son was still missing, he felt happy because, after what seemed like forever, Forte had finally started to open up, even if only with a thank you.

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* * *

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They weren't sure when they had lost consciousness, but they both knew that it had been around the time they sat down on the bed in the infirmary and let Netto's father take care of their wounds. Memories were jumbled, hazy and tended to have gaps until a complete black out and as much as Netto tried to make sense of what he could remember, he still felt disoriented and at a complete loss since after waking up in a random corridor of SciLabs.

Rubbing his eyes and looking around at the empty corridor, the boy continued in his wanderings. "It… it doesn't seem like we blew something up, right?" he asked to his partner as he glanced out of a window. From what of SciLabs he could see from there, and he was at the top floor, nothing was out of place. Well, there were still the marks of his fight against the security guards when he had appeared the first time, but those weren't what he was looking for.

_It appears so,_ Forte replied quietly. He too was still trying to make heads or tails of what had happened. All he could remember was being in the infirmary and then things just became too confusing.

"I don't even remember what I was doing that made us black out," Netto continued as he opened the window and floated outside, going up and landing on the roof. It was evening and the sun was almost down, and as his brown eyes scanned the city, he noticed that people had resumed moving about despite the recent attacks. "But… I think I felt something coming from you…"

Netto sat down on the railing, with his feet dangling into the air several floors above ground and his arms clasping the metal pole that had become his seat. "You were thinking about something, and… I got caught in your emotions…?" he said after a while when he felt that Forte wouldn't reply. "Do you think that could be the cause of our black outs?"

_It's a possibility,_ the navi supplied after a few more seconds of silence. _Every time that happened, you seemed to… feel much more of my emotions than you normally do…_

For the first time, Forte wasn't too much bothered in opening up with his host. Perhaps it was because he felt too weary and too used to Netto's constant presence to continue withholding information or give him a cold shoulder. It had been so long since he had expressed his hate for him too, as if he had forgotten that Netto was as much of a human as every other human was…

"Should… should we try this theory out?" the boy asked after another long pause of silence as he watched some people walk about in front of SciLabs's entrance until one of them looked up and saw him. The man stopped and nudged his colleague, said something to him and motioned upwards with his head, making the second scientist look up too. The two stared at the cloaked figure sitting on the roof's railing for a few seconds then hurried inside.

Netto was somewhat amused by their antics. If that was the reaction he was going to always get while he was stuck in a Cross Fusion with Forte, he might as well take advantage of that and scare everyone away when he was going to be forced in a queue at a game shop. Not that he was going to actively scare them, though…

_It's worth a try,_ Forte wasn't happy to let his host get that close to him, but he had to admit that the kid was right once again. They either worked out a solution to those black outs and controlled them, or they might wake up in a dire situation without even knowing how they had ended there.

Netto averted his eyes away from the bustling crowds below him and looked at the city laying in front of SciLabs, then at the lake on the other side of the town. Slowly, however, he started to shift his attention onto Forte's feeling that were always present in the back of his mind and that felt as if they were his. As always, they were only a part of the navi's true emotions, but as he got closer to them, they became clearer.

Oddly, he couldn't feel any hate directed at him, only reluctance at his attempt to verify what was always making them lose control. But as he slowly and carefully prodded deeper, ready to back away as soon as Forte rejected his presence, the reluctance faded away and he could feel the navi's deepest emotions.

Mental boundaries faded once again and brown eyes became dark red as Forte and Netto's feelings and thoughts became mixed. None of the two knew who they were anymore and the new persona stood up onto the railing with and unfocused gaze looking at the lake in the distance. There were no memories, nor reasons, but who they had become had the sudden urge to go there.

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* * *

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For the few hours that he'd dress as Forte, Enzan could get the picture of how it meant to feel as if the whole world was against you. He wasn't sure how the black navi could calmly wander through the corridors of SciLabs with every single scientist working there watching him with a mixture of terror and hate, whispering to each other about how they wished for his deletion. Once he was ready, Enzan hadn't lingered at SciLabs for long to hear everything, but what little he did, it made him shiver and promise to himself that he would speak with doctor Hikari about it.

Frowning in displeasure, he looked down at his hands and feet as he boarded the small submarine. After meeting with Dark Mu's agents, some weak-looking and un-customized navis, they had cuffed him with something that was supposed to completely block Forte's powers. Luckily, all he could feel right now was the strong pull that the devices, which seemed to be a shrunken and adapted version of the green converters used in the past, exerted on the network of wires under the suit.

"Move."

Letting his displeasure be known to the navi that pushed him forwards with a low grunt, Enzan trudged up the small ramp. Who would have ever thought that one of Dark Mu's bases was under the lake right outside Densan City?

Glancing one last time at the beach, his blue eyes - they had been unable to find red contact lenses in time - caught glimpse of a figure in the distance. It had been just for a fraction of a second before it disappeared behind some trees, but it was enough for him to recognize the presence of Forte tailing him. He was probably there to follow him to the base without getting caught by Dark Mu and strike them by surprise, but for some odd reason he could feel that he could trust the navi to help him out if he really needed it. After all, so far Forte had been on their side…

Smiling to himself, and after being pushed a second time, Enzan boarded the vehicle and watched as the doors closed behind his back. Now there was no turning back, but even if he could, he wasn't going to. Destroying one of Dark Mu's bases would give the organization a good blow to their plans, giving the NetPolice and SciLabs more time to track the leader down and come up with a plan to defeat them.

"I can't believe it was so easy to capture the infamous Black Fury," a navi muttered to one of his comrades as they kept their eyes and standard weapons trained on the cloaked figure standing in the middle of the bay. "All we had to do was to take hostages and he came willingly."

Enzan tilted his head towards the two and copied Forte's odd habit of watching someone from behind the rim of his helmet and cloak. To say that he was confused was saying little. The black navi didn't care about humans and Dark Mu should know that if they wanted to capture him. Plus, they had taken Netto's friends as hostages, not Forte's. Not to mention that the navi didn't had any friend that could be used for such a tactic…

Before more information could be disclosed to the boy, however, another navi glared at the two. "You! Stop the chat and keep your eyes on him," he said with a bossy voice, probably the leader of the small ring. "We don't want to give the Fury an opening."

Grumbling their displeasure at being ordered by someone of their level, the two became silent, leaving Enzan with more questions than answers for the entire length of their underwater journey.

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* * *

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After watching hundred of navis and humans alike rush in one direction and leaving the rest of the base unprotected, Meiru, Dekao and Yaito's progress became much easier. Still looking out for any possible guard or a surveillance system, the trio made their way towards the storeroom holding the Materializers, sure to not take the wrong turn thanks to the map Glyde had successfully downloaded without triggering any alarm.

"You know," Dekao suddenly spoke in a whisper, his eyes scanning the silent corridor in search of a possible enemy. "This is the same organization that is giving Netto so many troubles in coming back? They are doing a really bad job with the guard… it's like they have forgotten us…"

"Probably," Yaito replied as she turned left at an intersection as Glyde indicated. "From what we heard earlier, they are expecting to keep prisoner that black navi, and if the name is any indication, I'd say that he's so dangerous that these guys would want every single navi and human there to keep an eye on him when he arrives."

Meiru frowned and glanced back to make sure no one was following them. "Isn't it strange, though?" she asked. "We don't know that black navi, yet these people are using us as hostages to get some control on him. The first time we saw him, he didn't seem like the type of person that would care for someone else…"

At her mention of the navi's rampage against an old man, the trio and their navis shivered. The mere presence of the "Black Fury", as Dark Mu had called him, had been oppressive and all they could do was to stare in fear as the cloaked figure advanced on the man standing in front of them. Even their navis, still relegated in their PETs, had felt his dark aura.

Falling into an uneasy silence, the kids made their way through the empty corridors until they reached their destination. Like the rest of the base, the large door was unguarded and it didn't take long for Glyde and Roll to open it.

Inside, the room was well lit and full of crates neatly piled against the walls. Some of them were empty, some were opened but still full while the rest was still sealed shut. Walking inside and shutting the door behind them, the kids walked to the nearest open crate and peered inside.

"So, these are the Materializers?" Dekao asked as he grabbed a round and flat device and held it up for the others to see. It was shaped exactly like a navi emblem, only a dull gray and with a strange black square on the back. "I imagined them to be… different…"

Meiru fished into the crate and took out another device. "Let's try it out," she said as she held up her PET and aimed the laser port at the small black square. She wasn't an expert, but she could recognize an infrared port when she saw one. "Are you ready, Roll?"

The pink navi inside the PET nodded her head and smiled. "I am, Meiru-chan." She replied with contained excitement. Ever since she had been activated, she had always desired to spend time with her NetOp while outside the PET. Sure, there were Dimensional Areas, but those were deployed only when necessary.

With the hit of a button, Meiru sent her navi into the Materializer and watched as the device hummed gently in her hand before data started to materialize where the infrared port was. The process was somewhat slow as the Materializer automatically reconfigured itself for the first time, but after less than a couple of minutes, Roll opened her eyes and stared into the ones of her operator.

"This… is amazing," she said as she took a step towards Meiru and touched her shoulder. She could feel everything… from the texture of her dress to the warmth coming from her body. Still, despite her newfound freedom in the real world, she was still linked to her PET. It was probably a system to let the operator support their navi with battle chips during a battle.

Following her example, Dekao transferred his navi onto the device he was holding and watched in fascination and amazement as data materialized and clustered together to form Gutsman. Being larger than Roll, the navi took longer to appear in the real world, but once the process was complete, Dekao placed a hand onto his large arm and found out that the data it was composed of felt unlike any other thing he had ever felt. Warm, smooth and with something that made his skin slightly tingle.

Yaito, instead of doing the same as her friends, however, grabbed several Materializers and pocketed them into her small purse. She would love to give Glyde free movement in the real world, but they still needed to get out of the base, and while two materialized navis could act as perfect bodyguards, they would still need someone able to quickly get inside control panels and open the doors.

"We should go," she said after handing a few more Materializers to her two friends to carry. It was never a bad idea to carry some extra. "I don't want to get caught in here."

Stopping her ogling over her materialized navi, Meiru grabbed a couple of the offered devices and pocketed them. "Yes, better be going. Security might be sloppy right now, but we don't know when it'll pick up again," she said, nodding her head towards the door and taking out her chip folder just in case Roll needed support in a battle.

Dekao understood and, after a brief not to his navi, walked to the door and opened it enough to check the corridor. "Empty," he muttered as he slowly made his way out, soon followed by Gutsman and Roll, then by the two girls. "Lucky us."

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"Meijin," Yuichiro called as he entered the main laboratory of SciLabs at a fast pace. "Where is Enzan?"

The younger of the two men taped a few keys on the main keyboard and glanced up at the large screen displaying the lake just outside Densan City. "So far no one of Dark Mu discovered him or his PET hidden in the cloak."

Yuichiro nodded his head and glanced up at the monitor too, wondering how a base so close to them had been missed until then. Perhaps they had some cloaking device, or it was well hidden from view. "Keep the Dimensional Area Generator ready, Meijin. Enzan might need it at any given moment."

Nodding his head, Meijin punched a few more keys and brought the generator online and ready to be used, then resumed to keep his eyes on the few readings that he could get from the boy's PET. So far, the hastily put together encryption system had gone unnoticed and he could follow Enzan's progress underwater until it stopped at the deepest part of the lake.

"Doctor Hikari?"

Yuichiro turned around and watched as a shy young man walked up to him. He recognized him to be one of the recent acquisitions of SciLabs after some of the older scientists had left for pension. "Yes?"

The man nervously shifted from one foot to the other before mustering his courage. "There is this man that has asked for you. He was so insistent," he continued with a trembling voice. "And he knew his way around and things of SciLabs that I didn't even know of… and…"

Before he could continue, however, an old man with short hair, a beard and a pair of small glasses on his nose entered the laboratory and smiled at Yuichiro. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Yuichiro?" he asked with a cheery voice. "This place hasn't changed much. Same corridors, same rooms. Just more technology. Did something happen to the front doors?"

Yuichiro regarded the man like with wide eyes and took a step towards him in disbelief. "Doctor Cossack…" he muttered, unsure that the man in front of him was really who he thought he was. "I… I thought… this is truly a surprise…"

Cossack gave another smile, but unlike the previous one this had some sadness to it. "After that day ten years ago, I left and let everyone think I was dead," he replied, his eyes looking around the laboratory with longing and regret. "But I'm getting old, and I thought that before dying I should at least to try and speak with Forte."

Yuichiro flinched visibly and earned a raised eyebrow from his old friend and mentor. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said as he motioned for the man to follow him to a desk to the side where they could sit and talk. "Forte… he might be… mellower lately, but he has this tendency to… go into a rampage and not stop unless he is sedated, or whoever he's targeting is dead."

The two sat at the desk and Yuichiro folded his hands on it, looking down at the surface in regret at not being able to help the other man better. Ten years of suffering, and all because SciLabs as a whole couldn't understand Forte and accept him as he was. "Last time someone that wanted his deletion hurt him… he would have killed him if I hadn't sedated him. I wasn't even sure it would work…"

Cossack listened in silence, his arms folded in his lap and kind eyes looking at the young man sitting at the other side of the desk. If only he had done more in the past, Forte would have never suffered so much and would be still with him.

"I fear that if he sees you," Yuichiro continued, forcing the older doctor to wake up from his brief reverie. "He won't be easily stopped like last time…"

Placing a hand onto Yuichiro's folded ones, Cossack smiled as their eyes met. "Thanks, Yuichiro. Thanks for taking care of my son and for trying hard to understand him and do the right thing," he patted the younger man's hands once and then leaned back onto his chair. "And thank you for warning me, but I think I will take the risk and talk to him myself. I'm tired of… running away from my mistakes."

Netto's father gave him a sad smile, but nodded in understanding. "Then let me tell you as much as I learned of him in this past week or so."

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**A/N:** Well, Cossack officially makes his entrance. I have to say, I know next to nothing of the guy, so I'm going to make him a kind guy that has a lot of regret in not being able to help his "son" when he really needed it and that he is desperate to correct those mistakes (even if they weren't his mistakes) and reconnect with Forte.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** **PEOPLE!** Forgive Az for the lack of update till now, but between exhaustion, heat and busy days… well, I managed to finish the chapter only now. To compensate the slowness of the update, however, this chapter is DUN DUN DUN! 10 pages long! Happy reading!

Thanks to Silvera, who betaed this chapter for me!

**ALSO!** Unwilling Partners got another **fanart**! Azie is SO happeeee! Check my profile for the link!

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine. And the plot. Plot is mine too, like the concept of "Black Fury". Kindly refrain from stealing it.

Az.

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Being shoved several times down a corridor while being unable to walk properly because of some restraints wasn't the best way to start with his mission. More than once Enzan almost tripped and had to grab the nearest navi to prevent himself from falling face first on the ground. The only positive thing that came out of his predicament was that the guards escorting him, all low level and uncustomized navis, were relaxing and slowly diverting their attention from him to their comrades, talking about how easy was to control such a dangerous navi like the Black Fury.

"Here we are," one of them said as he opened a sturdy door and moved to the side, showing Enzan the small and bare room hidden behind it. "This'll be your room till either Paladin or Ninja are done talking with our leader."

Grabbing the one he believed to be Forte by the upper arm, the purple navi roughly shoved him into the room and watched as the disguised boy stumbled several feet before crashing to his knees, bound hands slamming onto the ground in front of him to stop his fall. "Have a nice stay," he said as he slammed the door close and locked it.

As soon as he was alone, and after checking that there were no cameras spying on him, Enzan sat up and took his PET out of the small pocket that has been sewn onto the rim of the cloak. "I can't believe they let their guard down so easily," he muttered as he turned the device on and watched as Blues appeared into the small screen. "But that comes to our advantage. Blues?"

The navi nodded and opened an encrypted channel with SciLabs. "Communications can't exceed more than one or two minutes, Enzan-sama," he said as he turned the holographic display on and opened a video call with whoever was currently keeping an eye on his situation. "The signal is weak, but I have successfully established contact with SciLabs."

Enzan watched as Meijin appeared on the video. The image was disturbed, with white noise interfering and a fuzzy sound in the background. "Ah, Enzan," the young scientist greeted while typing something on the keyboard in front of him. "I suppose they fell for our trick, didn't they?"

"They did," the boy replied in a low voice and a nod. "I can't believe such a sloppy organization is giving us so many troubles…"

"Enzan," Yuichiro spoke, appearing next to Meijin along with an older man behind his back. "Your priority is to locate Meiru and the others, but be on the lookout for anything that could help us stop these people. Also," here he paused and glanced at the person behind him with a worried expression. "Roughly an hour ago Forte left in direction of the lake. He's probably following you, so if you see him, tell him that doctor Cossack is back and would like to talk with him. But be prudent, this is something Forte _will not_ like."

Understanding that it was best to warn the black navi before he went back to SciLabs and found a bad surprise waiting for him, Enzan nodded. He wasn't actually sure if he would be able to talk with Forte, or even have time for it if he found him, but having a furious navi on the loose was something everyone should try to avoid.

"I saw him near the shore," he said as he remembered the brief glimpse of the cloaked navi watching him from the shadows of the trees. "Not sure how he's going to get down here, but I have a feeling that I'll know soon enough. For now, I have to go. Time's almost up and guards could come back any moment."

With a brief nod and a good luck from Yuichiro and Meijin, Blues cut the video call and appeared on the hovering screen coming from the PET. "We should go, Enzan-sama," he said as he looked at the door that he could see past his operator's shoulder. "Security is still loose, but we shouldn't waste any more time."

Enzan nodded and stood up, walking towards the door and trying to listen to the sounds coming from the other side. So far, he couldn't hear anything, but that might be because of the tick metal, so he wasn't relying much on his hearing at the moment. "Cut the power of the emitters," he said gently as he opened the small control panel next to the door and moved aside several wires to locate the infrared port he knew was there. "We're getting out of here."

Blues nodded and, after giving a quick command that he had been given by doctor Hikari, he turned off the emitters on Enzan's back. Without Forte's powers to latch onto, the highly technological cuffs on his wrists and ankles deactivated and just slid off from his limbs, which the boy discarded to the ground with a shake.

When he was finally free of his restraints, Enzan pointed his PET at the panel's infrared port and sent his navi into the cyberspace of the small computer that regulated the access to the room he had been imprisoned within.

"No enemy in sight, Enzan-sama," Blues called as he looked around as soon as he appeared into the computer. "And there is no firewall either…"

Baffled at such a lacking security towards a dangerous navi like Forte, the white haired boy directed his navi to the core of the computer and watched as he made quick work in hacking the password locking the door. "Well, that was… easy…" Blues muttered to himself as he returned to his PET and heard the faint click of the lock opening.

Enzan cautiously opened the door by a crack and spied the corridor on the other side. "This is unbelievable…" he muttered as he stepped outside when he saw no one guarding his prison. "What are they doing, anyway? With navis as dangerous as Ninja and Paladin, you'd think that Dark Mu's organization would be much better…"

The boy then turned around and grabbed the door, closing it. Security might be sloppy, but even if a single guard walked past and saw an open door and an empty cell, his mission would become really hard to accomplish.

"Blues, keep track of our progress," Enzan whispered to his navi as he replaced the PET back into the pocked in the cloak to have free hands if he needed them. "And be ready to call SciLabs and have them deploy a Dimensional Area."

After receiving an affirmative reply from Blues, the boy started to retrace his steps by memory, taking turns where he needed and hiding from view when a lone guard walked past. More than once he was glad that he was wearing black when an occasional passerby looked in his direction, thinking that they had seen something, but shaking their heads when all they saw were shadows.

It went like that for a good half an hour, with him avoiding detection and enemies ignoring his escape, until red lights blinked on and off and a loud blaring filled the empty corridor just before a distant explosion shook the entire base.

"Looks like Forte has started his attack," Enzan commented to his navi as he discarded the finned helmet and the cloak and grabbed his PET with his left hand. Now that the black navi has made his presence known to everyone within the base, there was no need to be careful.

Still trying to avoid detection, the boy followed several of Dark Mu's navis through the corridors until he reached the sector where the explosion happened. Cold lake water was filling the floor, getting higher by the second, until Enzan found himself ankle deep in it when he reached the large room he had walked through upon arrival.

Taking shelter behind a column, the boy observed the situation. On the far side of the room, two of the three large doors leading to three separate submarine bays were open while the third, the one on the left, was closing to prevent more water from getting inside the base from the large hole in one of the walls.

The few humans that dared to be there were yelling orders left and right to Dark Mu's navis as Forte walked past the closing doors without a care in the world, his cloak swishing gently around him and face always hidden from view, and stopped in the middle of the room, silently observing his enemies.

"Blues," Enzan spoke as he lifted his PET up to look at his navi on the small screen. "Call SciLabs and have a Dimensional Area deployed."

As Blues nodded and set to work, the white haired boy looked back at the black navi standing calmly in the middle of the room, surrounded by dozens upon dozens of navis. He wasn't worried for him, after all Forte could take care of himself, but the base would crumble as soon as one of his heavy attacks hit the outer walls that kept the water out.

"The Dimensional Area is being deployed, Enzan-sama," Blues called from the PET as colors shifted from normal to psychedelic in a matter of seconds.

Now with a chance to fight back, Enzan unscrewed the navi emblem on his chest and took out his Synchro Chip. Momentarily thanking Netto's father for his creative thinking, he held up his PET and nodded to Blues before he inserted the chip into its rightful slot and initiated Cross Fusion with his navi.

Surrounded by a white-reddish light, the boy felt Blues's data envelop him, increasing his strength and speed to inhuman levels. When the transformation was complete and he was released from the protective temporary shield formed by the energy released by Cross Fusion's process, he dropped to the ground with a light thump.

_Enzan-sama,_ the navi spoke into his operator's ears as he summoned his standard blade and charged towards the unsuspecting navis that were solely focused onto Forte. _These are low level navis, but I suspect that the alarm is going to recall the ones called Paladin and Ninja._

Slashing at the navis that he met as he made his way towards Forte, Enzan's mouth twitched in a frown. "Then we have to take care of these as soon as possible," the boy replied as he jumped over a large enemy, cut his arm off and landed next to the unmoving black navi.

The aura that Forte was projecting was calm and somewhat uncaring about the situation they were in, but at the same time he was fully alert of the approaching enemies. His head turned, and Enzan felt like his hidden eyes were burning a hole into him. "Forte," he eventually greeted, shivering at the cold calmness that the black navi displayed. "Once this is over, we need to talk. It's… urgent."

For a moment the boy felt like Forte was going to ignore him, but then he saw him give a very small nod of understanding before turning his attention back to the ever growing crowd of enemy navis, springing into a vicious-looking sequence of slashes with his Dark Arm Blades.

_He doesn't seem like he's entirely there,_ Blues commented as he and his operator spent a couple of seconds watching Forte effortlessly slash at every single navi that dared to attack him.

Enzan frowned, then parried a sword attack coming from his left and pushed the opposing navi away. "What makes you think that?" he asked as he sidestepped to the right to dodge a slash directed at his head and thrust his sword forwards, hitting his opponent right on the emblem. The device on the enemy's chest sparked as it was cut in half, then dropped to the ground as the navi exploded in a shower of blue data.

_I'm… not entirely sure,_ Blues had to admit, his voice leaking confusion. _It's a vibe I'm getting. He feels like Forte, but at the same time… he doesn't…_

Momentarily ignoring his navi's words in favor of getting rid of more opponents, Enzan spent the next few minutes fighting and dodging swords and bullets until he found himself back to back with Forte. Casting a quick glance over his shoulder, he suddenly sensed something wrong as well.

The black navi seemed to be...confused…

"Odd," he muttered as his attention returned to a particularly insistent enemy. The navi in question wasn't strong, but he was nimble on his feet, rendering him a difficult target to take down. "Why would he be confused?"

.

* * *

.

"This way!" Meiru called as she splashed her way through the corridors towards the submarine bays and possibly freedom. Behind her, Roll was keeping her eyes open for anyone that could suddenly jump in front of them and harm her operator. "We're close!"

Panting and with frozen feet, Dekao followed the older girl through the corridors while Yaito, having taken refugee on top of one of Gutsman's shoulders, had Glyde direct them from her PET using the map they had grabbed earlier. "I can hear a lot of noise," she said as she held onto the large navi's head for support. "I think someone is battling over there… should we really go that direction?"

"Maybe it's the NetPolice," Meiru replied as she took a turn when Yaito's navi told her to. "There is nothing else I can think of. Who would come down here, anyway? Or get this place into a Dimensional Area?"

The large boy frowned as he followed the girl's lead and glanced at the psychedelic colors that the metallic walls had gained. "I don't know… maybe that black navi?" he paused and frowned, remembering how one of Dark Mu's underlings had blabbed about using them as hostages to capture the 'Black Fury'.

Yaito tapped a finger on Gutsman's head as she hummed in thought. "It could be," she replied eventually, ducking her head as they rushed past a lower section of the corridor. "They do seem to have a strong enmity between each other. If the black navi found the base, I think he would attack without hesitation…"

"Which means," Dekao continued, his frown morphing into a really worried expression. "He won't care if the base gets flooded!"

Feeling a sudden rush of panic, the large boy increased his speed and ran past Meiru and Roll, ignoring the shouts coming from his friends and his navi. He wasn't scared, but drowning in an underwater base was the last thing he wanted to do. After turning several more corners, barely following the hastily shouted directions from Glyde, he came to a door and smashed it open with a kick.

What he, and his friends, saw upon entering the large hall made them shiver in fear. The walls were marked with scratches, cut marks and burns while the floor was littered with unconscious or agonizing navis. There were also several broken Materializers floating in the ankle deep water as two figures gracefully danced around their enemies and slashed with their swords at any navi that came close enough. Sometimes they would simply cut a limb, but most of the time they seemed to aim at the emblem on their chests.

"It's Enzan!" Yaito suddenly exclaimed as she recognized the boy Cross Fused with his navi. He was currently wrestling with a navi two times his size, their hands locked into a pushing contest to see who was stronger, while the other figure was being attacked by at least a dozen of opponents.

Meiru observed how the cloaked figure, that she recognized to be the same black navi she had seen at SciLabs, easily dodged every single attack and jumped into the air, hovering above the group for a few seconds, collecting dark energy in his hands. After he had enough energy in his hands, he dived at the ground and blew everyone surrounding him into the air, either crippling them so much that they couldn't get back up or deleting them because their Materializers were pulverized.

"The name they gave him," Roll suddenly spoke as she observed how the black navi grabbed the device on the chest of one of his opponents with his right hand and crushed it without a second thought. "Black Fury… now I understand why…"

Meiru nodded and watched as Enzan took out the large navi with a Variable Sword and turned to help his companion, only to find that the black navi had already taken care of everyone else. She then took a hesitant step towards the two and cleared her throat, not wanting to be mistaken for an enemy and cut in half.

"Enzan," she called to the familiar boy in Cross Fusion with his navi. Her eyes then shifted to the black navi as he turned his head around to look at her with hidden eyes. He stared for a few seconds, then turned away and grabbed his cloak, which he had lost during the battle and was now floating in the ankle deep water. He seemed really displeased as he hoisted it up with his right hand…

"Sakurai!" Enzan's surprised call made the girl avert her eyes from the muttering Black Fury and watch as the official NetBattler rushed towards her, his sword morphing back into his hand. Although his eyes were hidden by Blues's trademark shades, he appeared relieved to see her and the others and a bit confused as he saw Roll and Gutsman waving at him.

"It's called a Materializer," Yaito explained as she foresaw the boy's question by just looking at him and taking one of the undamaged devices out of her small purse to show it to him. "You just point your PET to the infrared port on the back," she continued as she turned the device in her hand and used her index finger to indicate the small black square. "And your navi gets materialized in the real world."

"We're still tied to our PET, though," Roll picked up, her eyes glancing at the pink device her operator was holding in her hands. "So that our operators can support us in a battle."

.

* * *

.

He and Forte weren't sure how they had ended up there. All they could remember was that they had briefly woken up as they crashed through the wall of one of the submarine hangars before losing control once again as Dark Mu's navi flooded the large room like the water was doing. Now they were floating there, in the middle of a battlefield and with a cloak weighted down by cold water hanging around their shared body.

"So… that's how it happens…?" Netto asked in a whisper as he watched Enzan speak with his friends. He was glad that they were safe, but at the same time he was confused because he couldn't remember anything regarding the battle they had obviously just fought. "We lost control because I…"

Netto didn't know how to put that into words, but Forte understood perfectly. However, there was no time to delve into it as the scanner he came to rely on more than he would like to admit suddenly flared to life. _No time for that!_ he exclaimed with urgency in his voice. _Leeches!_

Without even thinking about what to do, Netto flew to the side just before Ninja jumped out of his shadowy cover with a Leech in his right hand. The device was much smaller than the one used in the past, roughly the size of a shoebox, but as it brushed with his arm, both boy and navi felt that it was much more powerful.

"An improved version…" Netto muttered to himself as he flew up near the ceiling and locked eyes with Ninja. The navi was standing onto the flooded floor, casually holding the Leech into his hand and looking up at him with amused eyes.

"I knew that this operation was going to be a failure since the beginning," he spoke as he glanced at Enzan and the others standing to the side. "I told the emperor that the people and navis stationed here were… too low level and too stupid to carry on such an important task. Still, not everything is lost since you're here."

As he finished speaking, Paladin ran out of his cover, sword and shield at the ready, and jumped at the hovering navi near the ceiling. Netto was actually not so surprised by the ambush and used one of his energy blades to parry the enemy sword, his free hand grabbing the shield. "So," the boy said raising an eyebrow in amusement despite the dire situation he and Forte were in. "You decided to gang up on us?"

"I think Ninja told you this once," Paladin replied as he pushed Netto down towards the floor, landing on it with a splash and with swords still pushing against each other. The white navi was strong, but the boy at the moment wasn't putting all his strength on it. "Orders are orders, and as much as I am grateful to you to have given me a name, which I admit I like, we have to capture you and take you to our emperor."

"Is he the reason why we are locked in a Cross Fusion?" Netto asked as he ducked to dodge several throwing stars that Ninja had thrown at him. Without wasting any precious seconds, he rolled to the left and stood back up to avoid getting cut by Paladin's downwards slash. "What happened, anyway?"

The white navi smiled and charged forwards, his sword clashing with Netto's twin blades. "I would tell you," he said, actually being truthful. Paladin might be the enemy, but he seemed to respect him and Forte a lot, just like his comrade. "But Dark Mu's emperor doesn't want to let that particular secret out of the laboratory."

Feeling frustrated by the lack of answers, and feeling Forte's anger growing, Netto kicked his opponent away and ignored Enzan as he parried more throwing stars directed at his back. The two stood back to back for long seconds, one silently seething at Paladin while the other tried to gauge Ninja's real abilities.

"Forte," Enzan spoke, never taking his eyes away from the taller black navi standing in front of him and appearing like he didn't care about what he was doing. Opponents behaving like that were either stupid or really powerful, and Ninja didn't look to be part of the first category. "I'll cover your back."

Snapping out of his building anger, Netto turned his head around enough to watch as his friend charged his opponent almost recklessly. _We don't need our back covered,_ Forte hissed in indignation as his host returned his attention back onto Paladin. _We can take care of both of them on our own._

Netto chuckled and dodged another sword attack by stepping to the side, then thrust forwards with his left sword and did an upward slash with the right one. The first attack was deflected to the side by the enemy's blade while the second met the shield with a loud metallic clang. "Yeah, we could," he replied as he used Forte's superior strength to push Paladin backwards, towards one of the walls. "But it would be harder, and Ninja has a Leech… you know what happens when we get near an active one…"

Before Forte could reply with one of his biting remarks, however, Netto was forced to jump backwards as his opponent stepped to the side to disengage from his twin dark blades and try to attack his left flank with a diagonal slash. _Fine,_ the black navi replied after his host landed back onto the ground with a loud splash. _But he better not get in our way, kid._

The boy chuckled and rushed towards Paladin, his swords at the ready. "Don't worry," he replied as he started a fast-paced sword dance with his opponent and pushed him backwards with each attack, even managing to crack the shield with a powerful swipe. "He won't. Enzan knows his stuff."

When Paladin was forced to retreat to a safer distance, Netto turned his eyes to look at his friend. Enzan, when he saw that he was unable to hit Ninja using both swords and guns, resorted in at least keeping the enemy navi from reaching his real target by getting in the way. Past them, standing near the wall with their navis protecting them, Meiru and the others were silently observing the double fight and plotting amongst them, probably to sneak in an attack when Paladin or Ninja were too distracted to pay them any attention.

"Well, at least they are ok," Netto muttered to himself as he ducked to dodge his opponent's horizontal slash. "Now we just need to get rid of this insistent guy and go home."

_My thoughts exactly,_ Forte replied, voice easily depicting his characteristic grin as he agreed with the last part of what his host had just said. _This fight has lasted long enough._

Netto kicked the white navi on the side as strong as he was and watched as his opponent backtracked again, the armor where he had hit forming a halo of dematerializing data. The two then stared at each other in the eyes until Paladin lifted his sword and placed the flat side against his forehead.

"You have gotten much stronger than last time we met, kid," he said with a smile on his lips that neither Forte nor Netto could decipher. "If it wasn't for my programming, _you_ would be the one I would follow, not Dark Mu's current leader. You deserve all my gratitude for naming me and all my respect for being so strong. Unfortunately…" here he sighed, lowered his sword and morphed his shield back into his hand, letting a Leech materialize into it. "I can't do anything but follow my creator's orders…"

Eyes widening at the device held by his opponent, Netto took a step backwards and bumped backs with Enzan a second time. "Damn…" he grunted out, voice too low to be heard by his friend. "Have they been playing around with us all the time?"

_Kid,_ Forte grunted as he observed the white navi through his host's eyes while his proximity scanner kept tabs of Ninja lurking somewhere at their back. _It's time we unleashed our true potential. I'm tired of you holding back just because your weak friends are around._

"I don't want to harm them," Netto replied, ignoring as Enzan briefly glanced at him after picking up his incomprehensible muttering. "I… I'm not going to blow up everything just because I can, Forte."

_Do you want to get us caught again?_ the black navi hissed in anger at Netto's reluctance of using all the power that their merged form possessed.

"No," the boy replied before Forte could continue in his angry tirade. "Not if I have a say in it. But just because we currently possess so much power, it doesn't mean that the right way to use it is by letting it out in one go or throw it around hoping to hit the enemy…"

Curious as to what Netto was getting at, Forte silently watched as the boy started to collect energy in his hands. At first he thought that he was going to form a Darkness Overload, but then, as his host concentrated, he became slightly confused. _I hope that what you're planning will work…_

"I hope so, too," Netto replied as he imagined the shape of his next attack. If he could manipulate energy to form spheres and swords, maybe he could come up with other forms too. Sure, it would be harder than shaping his usual weapons, especially since he didn't had a clear image of what he was trying to come up with, but it was something that he was willing to try.

Locking his eyes with Paladin, and observing how the white navi had suddenly become wary of his machinations, he let his mouth stretch into a wide grin. "Well, here goes nothing…"

Twisting his body, he turned around and ducked under Enzan's arm to face Ninja. The taller black navi's eyes expressed great surprise as he watched his target stand in front of his comrade in arms and lift the hand holding the collection of dark energy into the air. For a moment nothing happened, but when Forte crouched down and slammed his hand onto the flooded floor, the ground shook just as dozens of giant columns with sharp pointed tips shot upwards, forcing Ninja to jump away to avoid getting stabbed.

He, however, was unable to save the Leech he was carrying as one of the pillars scraped at the arm he was carrying the device with. "An interesting way of using his energy," he said as he landed against the far wall and used it to jump away from harm and land next to his comrade. "He came up with his own version of the Wood Towers chip…"

Paladin glanced at his partner, then turned his eyes to the cloaked figure as he stood back up while the dark energy he had used to recreate the Wood Towers dispersed into the air in a blue shower of data. "I like him," he commented with a chuckle. "If he doesn't die after his Cross Fusion with Forte is cancelled, I want to keep him with Dark Mu. He's a good fighter."

"You talk like you want him to be your operator…" Ninja commented, watching as the boy roughly shoved his friend towards one of the two remaining submarine bays. "We're solo navis, we don't need an operator to help us in a fight."

Paladin shrugged, ignoring as everyone but their target rushed through the center door and disappeared from view. Orders were to capture, detain and bring back Netto and Forte, not his friends, so he didn't take interest in their escape. "True," he conceded, giving the remaining Leech to his partner and readied his sword. "But can you blame me? He named me, he's a good fighter and he deserves a place in Dark Mu. Maybe I'll force a Cross Fusion with him…"

Ninja took the offered device and sighed, understanding his comrade's way of thinking. "You are right, the kid is too good to let him go to waste. I just hope he will survive the cancellation of his current Cross Fusion."

Without adding further words, the two navis sprung to the attack. Paladin, who had both hands free, quickly locked his sword with those of Forte while Ninja lurked in the background in search of an opening to use the device on the boy and weaken him enough so they could immobilize him.

.

* * *

.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Meiru asked as she tried to see the three fighting figures before she was forced down the hatch of the submarine. Despite being scared of the cloaked navi, she felt that he wasn't as bad as she had seen him before being kidnapped. "Two against one…"

Enzan, still Cross Fused with his navi, tugged the girl down and locked the hatch with ease. "I wouldn't worry about him, Sakurai," he replied with a frown. "Forte has been holding back until now. We're lucky he didn't blow the base up while we're still around."

While Roll took the pilot seat and let Glyde help her from within the computer, and while Gutsman and Dekao stood at the back of the small deck to observe the others, Meiru and Yaito watched as Enzan dropped down the ladder and landed onto the ground with a light thump.

"Then we should leave as soon as possible," the blond girl said, mouth frowning lightly. She could remember well how powerful the black navi's mere presence had felt. She might not be a NetBattler, but even she could distinguish a dangerous navi when she saw one.

"Still," Meiru continued as she followed the boy and the younger girl to the center of the deck and sat down onto one of the chairs, only glancing at the console in front of her and leaving her navi and Glyde to work out the controls and take them to safety. "Those two navis look powerful…"

Feeling the submarine lurch into movement and glancing at the large monitor to watch as the underwater doors opened, Enzan sat down onto the copilot's seat and relaxed. "They are," he replied with a light frown. "But I wouldn't underestimate Forte, Sakurai. He can take care of himself…"

Meiru frowned, but nodded in understanding. She wasn't sure why she was so worried about someone she didn't know, or why she had this feeling that she had met him before. "I suppose," she replied as she shoved the odd feeling to the back of her mind and let her attention focus on her materialized navi. A smile appeared on her lips. She had Cross Fused with Roll in the past, but this was much better.

"Blues," Enzan called as he took the controls and helped Roll in keeping the submarine on a steady course towards the edge of the Dimensional Area. "Call SciLabs, inform them that Sakurai and the others are safe and that I was unable to talk with Forte about doctor Cossack."

_Yes, Enzan-sama._

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* * *

.

_They have left,_ Forte said as his host dodged another sword attack from Paladin before jumping over Ninja, who had tried to surprise him from the back with the Leech he was holding. Still, the device was close enough to make the boy cringe as he felt a good portion of his energy being sucked away. _You can stop holding back._

Netto nodded and stopped in midair, looking down at his two opponents. "Then there is nothing left for us to do here," he said, feeling weary and hungry. "I want to go home and eat something… what would you like to eat? Curry?"

_Whatever,_ Forte replied, disinterested. _Just destroy them._

The boy chuckled and started to concentrate, mind slowly prodding at the mental wall that kept at bay all the energy that they possessed. Dark energy surrounded them and Netto curled into a fetal position for a fraction of a second before uncurling and throwing his arms and legs out, screaming and releasing all the energy he dared to use without risking getting too tired to return to SciLabs.

"Time to go," Ninja commented as he and Paladin left the base in a shower of blue data just before a huge explosion disintegrated half of the structure and crushed the other half.

After finding himself surrounded by cold water and floating debris, Netto looked up at the surface of the lake that he could see through the wall of the Dimensional Area. He spent a couple of seconds not moving from where he was, letting the currents carry him around. Then, with several bubbles escaping from his mouth, he bolted upwards and broke through the psychedelic wall with a thunderous sound, disappearing from view a fraction of a second later.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** **PEOPLE!** Forgive Az for the lack of updates, again, but I've been either too busy or too tired to do more than just sleep for hours.

This was really a tricky chapter to write. Mainly because there is a lot of important stuff in it regarding the character's emotional development… took me a lot to get it done like I wanted it, but in the end I got ten pages for you to read! For those who are reading this, there is a manga reference in this chapter. A virtual chocolate (or vanilla, or strawberry, or whatever you like) cookie to who guess right!

**ALSO!** Unwilling Partners got another **fanart**! Azie is SO happeeee! Check my profile for the link!

Thanks to Silvera, again, for the few corrections she managed to do despite her impossibility to do it. I appreciate your effort!

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine. And the plot. Plot is mine too, especially the concept of "Black Fury". Kindly refrain from stealing it.

Az.

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* * *

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"Well, that was… interesting…" Netto had to chuckle as he remembered how people had reacted to his entrance into the curry shop and asked for a large portion of his favored food. Some of the customers had left in a hurry, a couple had backtracked to the wall in fear while the poor man at the counter had looked so pale that the boy had thought that he would faint any second. "At least we got some food."

Netto was currently sitting at the edge of a ledge on top of a tall metallic pylon adorned with satellite dishes and boxes that the boy didn't bother knowing the use of. It was located on a hill at the edge of the city so he had a nice view of the land before him, in particular the lake where the base had been.

_Is curry all you eat?_ Forte asked in annoyance. If he concentrated enough, he could feel the taste of the food, and he had to admit that it was… interesting, but he was secretly starting to get tired of the same food over and over.

Netto lightly swung his legs into the air, eyes briefly looking down at the ground. In the past he would have been unnerved by such a long drop, but after spending so much time flying around and generally being high up in the air, he liked the advantage point he could gain from places like that. And humans would be unable to reach him without climbing a narrow ladder or without a helicopter, which was even better. He wouldn't have to worry about having to keep an eye on his back all the time.

"Well," the boy replied after a few seconds of silence. "I asked you if you wanted something else, but you apparently didn't care about it so I went with what I like best…"

After receiving only a disgruntled sound for reply, Netto sighed and focused his attention down at the still hot bowl of curry in his lap. The scent was sweet, as always, and it made him drool and wonder if he should have ordered more than just one large portion. Not to mention that his father wouldn't be angry at him for the bills he sent him.

"I wonder how everyone will take this," Netto suddenly spoke, idly playing with the spoon in his hand and making it twirl in his fingers. Normally he would lose his grip immediately, but the navi's superior dexterity made it so easy that he could do it without even looking at it. "Shocked, maybe?"

_Just tell them and see for yourself,_ Forte replied with a grunt, still not fully understanding why his host was so reluctant in telling the truth. He knew that he had started doing it because of his feelings of hate and distrust, but it felt so long since they had seen who they could trust and who they had to be wary of.

"It's strange," the boy replied with a frown on his mouth. His eyes returned to the bowl of food on his lap and, after a couple of seconds of contemplation, he took a few spoonfuls of curry to his mouth. "The more I wait, the more I'm reluctant to tell them… but at the same time, I'm not bothered if they discover it on their own…"

After his words, silence filled the air and Netto quietly ate his dinner while watching the sunset. He missed being with his friends and family a lot, but at the same he had come to enjoy the solitude and quiet times. "How long have we been like this? A month?"

_Roughly,_ Forte replied with disinterest, feeling a sudden wave of weariness and sadness coming from his host. Strangely enough, however, it wasn't because he was stuck with him.

"Should we go?" the boy asked after a while, empty bowl in his hands transforming into ashes thanks to a short burst of dark energy from his hands. He then stood up and turned towards the direction SciLabs was in and felt a sudden wave of reluctance in going back. Oddly, it was his reluctance, and not Forte's. "What's happening to me..?"

_Tell them,_ the black navi spoke, averting the boy's attention away from his inner turmoil and back to reality. His voice sounded calm and collected, but deep down he could feel… something that he had never felt before. Something that frustrated him and made him wish he could blast whatever it was to smithereens. _This has gone on for too long._

Netto lowered his head into the rim of his cloak and held onto a nearby pole for balance. "I… don't feel like I can…" he muttered, feeling torn between crying and laughing in amusement at his own insecurity. "It's just… I feel that when I'll face dad, I simply won't be able to say a word to him…"

The boy then pressed his right hand to his face and let out a humorless laugh while a tear ran down his left cheek. For a moment he felt like he would lose control and just break down, but then he shook his head, rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fine," he reassured himself as he lightly crouched down and jumped into the air. "Perfectly fine."

.

* * *

.

Yuichiro was too worried to actually concentrate on his work, but at the same time he needed to keep his mind busy with something else. Or at least try to since their current situation looked less than good.

The few humans that had been stationed in the underground base had all escaped death and then capture from the NetPolice, the few agents of the criminal organization that they had under custody simply didn't want to speak and Forte had been missing for hours after being spotted in a curry store and Enzan had been unable to speak with him. And there was no sign of his son.

The only positive result was that Meiru and the others had come back safe and sound and brought back with them a 'Materializer', the device that made possible for navis to walk in the real world without the use of a Dimensional Area.

"Interesting," Meijin muttered as he flipped a component to observe its other side and uncover a small tubular device that he instantly recognized. "Doctor, look at this."

Yuichiro lifted his head from the scribbled blueprints of a Materializer to look at the open device on the other side of the desk. "A… miniature converter?" he asked as he observed the battery-like component. At the moment it was deactivated, but he could recognize it as well. "So this is how navis can materialize? A miniature Dimensional Area…"

"It's deactivated, though," Meijin replied with a frown as he unhooked the small device and held it up so that both him and his colleague could better observe it. "It seems to work on electric current, but there is no battery inside the Materializer. Still…"

The older man nodded his head and took the miniature converter into his hand, rolling it around with his thumb while he hummed in thought. "Still, this sample is undamaged, so we know that it works," he continued before looking down at the blueprints he had personally drawn. "No battery… could it be that… the navi that uses this is the power source?"

Meijin frowned lightly, then started to follow the small wires that were connected to the support for the mini converter. "It could be," he replied as he prodded the device they were attached to. "This seems to be the hard disk that houses the navi's core program while his frame and sensorial abilities are projected by this other device…"

Yuichiro watched as the younger man prodded another device, then set the mini converter down and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "To think that someone came up with this useful device only to do harm…"

Having walked into the room at the right time to listen to the last bit of information, Cossack stopped next to Netto's father and looked down at the device. "Do you think that Forte is using one of these without realizing it?"

"It could be," Meijin replied, shifting the glasses up a bit. "But again, Forte himself told Blues that Dark Mu was after a code that he had, and he has a human-like body that lose blood when injured. We'd have to talk with him when he gets back."

The three men remained in silence for several long seconds, everyone deep into their own thoughts. Meijin was mainly focused onto the device, wondering if he could reproduce it with SciLabs's resources, Cossack was thinking about the reaction Forte will surely have upon seeing him and Yuichiro's mind was swirling with thousands of questions.

When the doors slid open again, the trio turned around with a start. For a moment they believed it was Forte, but upon seeing Enzan looking at them in slight confusion and a raised eyebrow, the men sighed in relief. As much as they needed to talk with the black navi, they still dreaded the time when he came back to SciLabs. Although lately he was more civil towards them, that didn't mean that he wouldn't lose his calm demeanor upon seeing that his creator was back.

"Still no sighting of Forte?"

Enzan stopped at one of the free edges of the table and looked down at the disassembled Materializer, then turned his eyes onto Yuichiro. "He has been sighted at this curry shop on the other side of the city roughly forty-five minutes ago to buy some curry," the boy replied as he took out his PET and let his navi display a map with a few red dots on it. One of them was the store he had mentioned while the others were either streets or skyscrapers. "The last sighting reports him flying to the east."

Yuichiro examined the map with a hum, one hand under his chin. "Odd," he mumbled out, confused at the coincidence. "That's one of Netto's favored curry shops…"

Perhaps it was just Forte getting food for his son, but there was something that just didn't make sense. A small detail that that he couldn't put his finger on it and that would surely solve the mystery around the navi's strangely calm behavior and his son's disappearance. "Maybe I'm just tired…"

Cossack placed a hand onto the younger man and squeezed it gently. "From what you told me, I can guess that you haven't slept well in a while," he said with a gentle smile and worry in his eyes. He might have been away for ten years, but he still cared for the man that had once been an apprentice at SciLabs.

Yuichiro rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily. "It's just… Forte knows a lot of what's going on, but he doesn't talk," he replied, suddenly feeling tired and older than he was. "He's been here for several days, and all I could get out of him was a single word… I know that he will talk when he is ready, but it's… so tiring to just wait…"

"Yuichiro," the older man started, gently pushing Netto's father around and starting to accompany him towards the door of the room. "You have been working almost non stop since your son went missing. It's time you take your deserved rest and leave everything up to your colleagues."

Yuichiro sighed and rubbed his eyes, feeling another wave of tiredness pervade his body and mind. "But I need to find Netto," he replied after a few seconds, voice faint and subdued. "Who knows in what danger he is in…"

Cossack affectionately patted the shoulder of the man he was accompanying. "I'm sure he's fine. He seems like the type of kid that knows what he's doing."

Netto's father sighed again. He wasn't exactly sure of how truthful his old friend's words were… his son, although always coming on top of things, was rash and had a tendency to jump headfirst into a fight without thinking about it or what consequences there could be. There were too many chances of him making a mistake and getting hurt, or worse, dead.

Giving a nod of silent acceptance, however, Yuichiro let the older man guide him out of the laboratory, leaving Meijin behind to continue in his analysis of the Materializer with Enzan giving him a hand. "I just… can't help but worry…" he eventually murmured as they walked through the corridors, directed to the sleeping quarters within SciLabs.

"You're a good father, Yuichiro. Better than I could ever be," Cossack's eyes softened as he remembered how he had failed to support his son when he really needed it. "But right now you should take care of yourself. What would your son say when he comes back and find you hospitalized because you had a sudden collapse? And let's not forget your wife. She needs your support to get through this."

The younger man bit his lip, feeling a sudden wave of guilt claw at his heart. "I should call her…" he mused with a tired smile. Even if she knew that he was always at SciLabs to find their son, Haruka needed more than just the moral support from her friends. "Tell her to not worry, that Netto will…"

As Yuichiro faltered both in his speech and in his steps, Cossack stopped walking and watched the other's face with a light frown of confusion. Netto's father was looking straight ahead and had an expression that was a mix between anxiety and fear, and, after following his gaze, the older man understood why Yuichiro looked like that.

At the end of the corridor, enveloped by his brown cloak and floating a few inches from the ground, Forte was staring back at them. His face was hidden from view, but there was no need to see it to understand that the navi was close to explode with rage. Both men could feel his oppressive aura pushing against their skin.

For a moment, time froze and Cossack felt the sudden urge to approach the silently raging navi and apologize for everything. Instead, it was Yuichiro who made the first move by placing a halting hand onto the older man's shoulder before taking a step towards Forte, his movements careful and slow as to not spark any unwanted reaction from the navi.

"Forte," Yuichiro spoke calmly, but in reality he was worried beyond imagination. He raised his hands into the air to show that he was unharmed and took a few more steps forwards. When the navi slightly turned his head to look at him, he stopped advancing and tried to look as harmless as possible. "Please, listen to me."

Forte shifted his attention between the two men several times, giving Yuichiro the impression that the navi was having an internal conflict of some sort. Listen to his words, or attack?

Unable to decide, however, Forte brought his hands to his head and clutched it, suddenly howling in agony for a moment before rushing past Netto's father, roughly shoving him against the wall, and tackling his creator to the ground.

"Forte…" Cossack rasped out as he recovered from the collision with the floor. The back of his head hurt and the two hands around his neck were slowly tightening. Yet, even if the navi was strangling him, he couldn't help but look up at the Forte's face with loving eyes. A different face and cold dark red eyes stared back at him, and when he placed a fatherly hand onto the navi's shoulder, the hands around his neck jerked to a stop.

Standing up from where he had been shoved against the wall, Yuichiro took a few seconds to recollect himself, then he approached the unmoving navi once again. "Forte, please… listen to me. Doctor Cossack never meant to hurt you. Ten years ago… he couldn't help you because he was held by the police!"

"_Liar…"_ Forte's cold voice cut the air like a hot knife would do with butter, but both men could see that the navi was conflicted on what he wanted to do. Already his hands were moving away from Cossack's neck and traveling to his head to clutch at it again. _"Liar!"_

Then Forte jumped away and landed at the end of the corridor, collapsing on his knees and hunching over. Something in him wanted to blast his creator to oblivion, but something else told him that he could trust Yuichiro's words despite everything he knew. The conflicting emotions showed themselves as physical pain and the navi started to shake and breathe raggedly for air, as if chocking.

Yuichiro kneeled next to Forte and placed a hand onto his back, rubbing it up and down in the same way his wife did with Netto when he was still very small. It was an action that seemed to soothe people in distress, and the man was glad to see that the navi didn't flinch away. "Forte," he called softly, hoping that his voice would keep the navi from having a mental breakdown. If it happened, Forte would surely react violently. "You have to believe me."

"I've been thinking about what to say since I've seen you on TV days ago," Cossack spoke, ignoring the burning that every word brought to his throat. He kneeled down in front of Forte and placed his hand onto the navi's shoulder once again. "But now I realize that everything I thought is… useless. There is no way for me to express how sorry I am for not having tried harder… there are just no… excuses…" he paused and watched as Forte tried to flinch away from him, but somehow had no strength to do so. "Still, even if it will never make things right once again, I'm sorry."

The reaction from the navi wasn't exactly what Yuichiro and Cossack had hoped for. After pushing the two away, Forte screamed and blasted upwards, smashing through several floors before disappearing through a layer of gray clouds. Netto's father was the first to stand up from where he had been shoved and, after carefully sidestepping some precarious-looking debris hanging from the hole in the ceiling, he helped the other man up.

"Well," Cossack coughed out as dust filled his already sore throat. He dusted his hair and took his glasses off to better observe the crack in the left lenses. "It didn't go as I had hoped, but still… it wasn't a total disaster…"

"He almost killed you," Yuichiro replied, lifting an eyebrow at the other man. He was perplexed at Cossack's laid back attitude regarding the matter, especially since Forte almost strangled him to death. "Aren't you worried?"

The older man gave a tiny smile and peered at the sky that he could see through the several holes the navi had made. Forte was nowhere to be seen, probably already far away from him. "I am worried, Yuichiro, but… I have to give him his space," he explained, resigned to wait rather than actively seeking reconciliation with the navi he had created. "He'll be back, eventually. To either talk with me or kill me."

The two remained in silence for a while, both absorbed into their own thoughts, until Yuichiro gave a small sigh. "He changed a lot recently, though," he suddenly said, drawing the other man's attention. "He's… mellower… somewhat. He doesn't attack unless provoked, which isn't like him…"

Cossack massaged his throat, trying to get rid of the soreness. "And he's not the kind of person to have such an emotional conflict that causes him pain too, but again, it's been so long… Forte might have changed from the navi I knew more than I had originally thought. Even his face is different…"

Yuichiro turned his gaze onto the man standing next to him and raised an eyebrow. "You saw his face? Forte hasn't let anyone see him in the face since he came here," he commented, shifting his glasses up his nose with a finger. "I just saw his eyes a couple of times. They are of a much darker red than what I remember."

Cossack hummed in thought, suddenly feeling like he had already seen Forte's new face somewhere. There was a sense of familiarity with it that it almost frustrated him beyond reason. Looking down at the cracked glasses still in his hands, the man gave a soft sigh and pocketed them in resignation. Without having another close look at Forte's face, there was nothing more he could do about it.

The two then moved away from the hole in the ceiling as some debris fell from the upper floors, making the place too dangerous to stay in. "He's like a shadow… Never talking, never letting someone see him in the face, never doing more than wandering unless necessary. He thanked me once, for getting care of his wounds, but his voice was so low that I nearly missed it…"

The two remained in silence as they walked away. Now that Forte was gone, there was no need to stay there and risk their life for nothing. "We should probably see where he's going…" Yuichiro suddenly suggested, turning a corner and directing himself towards the main laboratory. Despite knowing that the navi was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he was still worried he could get into troubles…

"You really are a good father, Yuichiro," Cossack laughed heartedly despite the situation. "And you have the same hero complex you had ten years ago. As soon as you see someone in trouble, you have to help them. Even if they don't want it."

"I'm surprised that Forte came to SciLabs in search for help…" Yuichiro replied, watching Cossack go from happy to sad as soon as he remembered how he had failed the navi that he considered a son. "Or that he's helping my son with something…"

The older man gave another tiny smile to Yuichiro as they walked inside the main laboratory. "In my travels, I learned that anything could happen when you least expect it. Maybe your son managed to talk some sense into mine."

"Netto? Talk sense into Forte?" Yuichiro asked with a raised eyebrow. "I would believe it if it was Rockman, but Netto? Netto's the one who needs sense talked into his head sometimes. As much as I love him, he can be… such a troublemaker at times…"

"Sounds a lot like Forte ten years ago," Cossack laughed again, amused at how Yuichiro's son and his at some point in their lives had shared certain traits of their personality. "But maybe your son grew up since he went missing. After all, it's been… what? A couple of months?"

Netto's father nodded. "Yes, about two months," he replied with a small sigh. The boy had been missing for a whole month without them being able to track him down before he sent a cryptic message to Enzan. As of now, his son was still eluding both the police and SciLabs's attempts to find him, only occasionally leaving a note for them.

They remained in silence until they entered into the main laboratory, where Yuichiro greeted Meijin with a nod. "I presume you got wind of what happened just a few minutes ago," the man asked his younger colleague. At the moment he, Meijin and Cossack were the only people within the room.

"Sure I did," the youngest of the trio replied, returning to the console and pressing a few keys. "Forte wasn't quiet when he left. The building shook only slightly, but it was enough to send everyone into a panic. They all left in a hurry, but they should be back soon. Was that because he found that Doctor Cossack is back?"

Yuichiro nodded and stood next to Meijin to look at the large screen hanging at the wall in front of them. "He acted oddly," he replied as he observed the younger man use a satellite to scan the land around SciLabs in search of Forte. "At first he nearly strangled him, but then… he almost had a mental breakdown."

Cossack watched in silence as the two used the most advanced satellite to track the fleeing navi down and sighed to himself. Even if the first meeting had gone better than he had thought and gave him hope, he also had to agree with Yuichiro on Forte's odd behavior. It was like the navi had two personalities that were fighting each other so violently on what to do that it caused him physical pain.

A sharp beep then woke the old man from his reverie and his green eyes turned to look at Meijin, who was scratching his head in perplexity. "Well," he heard him say softly, words probably meant only for himself. "That's… the last place I would look for him…"

Yuichiro raised an eyebrow and looked down at the small monitor in front of the keyboard, blocking it from Cossack's view. "Where is he?" the blond haired man asked, moving to the side so he could glance at the screen from behind Meijin's shoulder. The video feed that showed an apparently calm Forte made him sigh in relief, but when he noticed where the navi was floating, he had to raise an eyebrow too. "Space?"

"Yes," Meijin confirmed, typing something else and opening a new window showing the planet and several lines running around it in circles. One of them was in red. "He has a stable orbit around the planet near one of our satellites. From a first analysis, it appears that he has some sort of shield protecting him from the void of space."

"Looks like he's safe for now," Yuichiro took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "Since there's nothing more we can do at the moment, I'm going to rest a bit. Meijin, keep an eye on Forte and tell me if something happens."

The younger man nodded and watched as Netto's father trudged out of the room with slumped shoulders. "Sometimes, he overworks himself too much," he commented once the door had shut and left him and Cossack alone. "But I can't blame him. His son is missing and he has taken a fatherly shine to Forte, probably because of his hero complex…"

"He's like I remember him," Cossack replied as he returned his eyes on the monitor. Forte was still floating in space, unmoving and with his face hidden from view by his cloak and helmet. "But that's what makes him a great man."

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* * *

.

Even if he still had to open his eyes after waking up from the latest black out, Netto knew that he was floating somewhere in space. It hadn't taken him too long to clear his mind from the haziness of unconsciousness and recognize the feeling of weightlessness and the lack of sounds save for his heartbeat, his breathing and the occasional rustle from his cape further confirm it.

He wasn't bothered about it, though. He had been in space before, and if he had flown so high up, he could also fly back down in a way or in another. Besides, the quietness of space had some sort of calming effect on Forte, and by extension, on him too.

It was the reason he had gotten there that worried him. He didn't know what had happened, but he could vaguely remember being in pain and feeling like he was suffocating. Then there was the faint memory of flying upwards in search of fresh air and not stopping for a long time. And all because of that old man that he had seen with his father.

"Forte…?"

_What?_

Forte sounded weary and his voice was soft, devoid of its usual edginess, making him sound more like a sleepy kid than a blood thirsty navi. Netto could faintly feel his confusion. "Who was that man?"

The navi was reluctant in replying, but after a moment of silence he gave a sigh. _That was Doctor Cossack, my creator…_

"So," Netto started after a while, remembering the words he had heard when he had entered Forte's nightmare. Doctor Cossack had been talking about how a huge mistake the navi's creation had been and that he needed to be deleted. His hand moved to his chest and covered the scarred emblem, his fingers tracing the neat line and letting his mind feel the emotions that came from Forte. "…Betrayal…"

To think that the navi had been betrayed by his own creator hurt Netto more than he could bear and made him curl on himself, clutching at the emblem as a phantom pain suddenly cut through his chest. He knew that it wasn't real, that in the end it was just a memory, but it still was such an agony that it made him breath raggedly.

He remained there for long minutes, motionlessly waiting for the pain to go away and trying to keep his mind from wandering too close to Forte's emotions. The last thing he and the navi needed was to black out again and wake up on the moon. Finally opening his eyes, he took in the magnificent sight of the planet hanging in front of him.

Until a few drops of water floating in front of him caught his attention.

After bringing his right hand to his face to rub his eyes, he observed how the white material appeared slightly darker on certain parts of his fingers. "Tears?" the droplets of salty water were less than the fingers of his hand, but they still confused him. Yet, he knew that they had been spilled because of Forte's past. He still didn't know all the details, but what he knew was enough to make him want to go back to SciLabs and give that Cossack guy a piece of his mind.

Yet, as much as he felt compelled to do just that, there was something that stopped him. "You know…" he spoke after thinking for a long while and suddenly remembering where he had heard the man's name. "My dad used to talk a lot about him when I was younger… he used to tell me how kind and great Doctor Cossack was…"

_Lies,_ Forte's voice was soft and disheartened. _All lies…_

"Still… I can't believe that my dad lied to me on something like this," Netto replied with a light frown on his face. His father might have been away from home for months at time because of his work, but he could trust him to never lie on something important. "He would never do that…"

_Are you saying that I lie? That what I went through ten years ago is a mere fantasy I came up with?_

Before Forte could get angry, the boy shook his head. "No. No. I trust you. You have no reasons to lie on something like this either, but…" he paused and gave a deep sigh. "But what if there was a misunderstanding between you two?"

_What else can there be?_ the navi replied in barely contained anger. _He abandoned me. Ordered my deletion. Is that what someone would do to their 'son'? Just because I wasn't like they wanted me to be? The security was lousy and I was merely showing them how easy it was for someone to crack the defenses. Thanks to me, they corrected countless of bugs and replaced useless security navis with better ones!_

Netto silently listened to the navi ranting, finally getting a few more details on his past. He didn't interrupt for fear that Forte would just shut up once again. Sure, the navi's method of troubleshooting SciLabs's security system was not the best way to do it, but there was no malice behind is actions. He had just wanted to help in the only way a fighting-type navi knew. Fight.

_And what do I get in return?_ Forte continued, his words dripping with venom. _They want me dead! They can't care less that I'm as aware as them, that I can feel the same emotions they feel, that despite being made of data, I'm alive. No! They told my creator to delete me, and he agreed! He was so disgusted by me that he didn't even care to be there when they almost killed me…_

Netto gritted his teeth and felt his fingers twitch involuntarily. He was angry and for a moment he wished he could track those people, punch them in the stomach and tell them how they had been disgustingly full of themselves to realize that they had been demanding the death of a sentient being…

"Still…" the boy forced the anger away and closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I… believe in my dad too. There must be another reason. Something amiss… you said that he wasn't there when you were attacked, right?"

Forte gave an affirmative grunt, too weary to fight his host's annoying prying and his firm belief in his father. At the moment he didn't even care for what Netto was trying to find. All he wanted to do was just… retreat to his little corner and block out the entire world. Yet, the determination that drove the boy in finding the truth behind Cossack's absence, whatever it was, kept him where he was.

_He just didn't care…_ he countered weakly. His creator was still an open and painful wound to him and he just didn't want to have anything to do with the man anymore. _Left me to die while the navi that attacked me praised the restraints that he had personally put on me…_

"Forte," Netto called out as he started to float towards the planet. "I don't know every detail, but I have a feeling that you have been misled on purpose. I want to find out why Doctor Cossack was absent at the time, but to do that, I'll need your help to crack the security of NetPolice's archives."

At first the navi was reluctant in agreeing, but knowing the boy to not be satisfied with anything less than a 'yes', he eventually grunted. He wasn't happy with Netto's choice of investigating the past, but at the same time he wasn't in the mood to get into an argument with the boy. Especially when they were reentering into the planet's atmosphere like a meteor. Thankfully their shield was doing a very good job in keeping the heat at bay.

Netto rolled around so that he was falling on his back, his eyes cast up at the sky. The flames had died as the friction with the air started to slow him down. "This is a nice powerful Life Aura we have..."

The boy's words and his carefree attitude pushed the tension away and the navi suddenly felt lighter. The pain, the anger and the hate were still there, but for the first time in ten years he felt… at peace. He was so enthralled by the feeling that he noticed too late that the proximity scanner was warning him of the presence of a large passenger plane directly below them.

Caught by surprise, the first thing that Forte did was to follow his instinct and roll to the side despite the fact that he wasn't in control of their shared body. Everything that happened after that point spanned a mere second, but it was as clear as day. There were no words between them, no thoughts. Just the action of twisting to the side and dodge the airplane by a couple of feet.

They observed the people on the other side of the small windows, unaware of the barely missed collision and chatting happily with their friends, then continued their fall for a couple of more seconds before coming to a halt and observing the plane continue its flight and disappear behind a white and puffy cloud.

Netto spent a few more seconds in looking at the direction the plane had went into, then looked down at his hands. One moment he was laying on his back and looking up at the sky, the next he _knew_ he had to move to the side. He had felt in perfect control of his body, but at the same time he had felt like he had been guided through the action…

"What… what happened?"

Forte was as confused as he was. He didn't know how he had done it, but he could remember moving his host's body, and although it had lasted only for a second, he knew that it had been real. _I… don't know…_

Yet, despite their confusion and perplexity, what they just did, whatever that was, had been… exhilarating.


	17. Chapter 17

**TO AVOID CONFUSION:** Forte has no relation to Pharaohman. He just absorbed the data left around when Wily created Gospel.

**A/N:** **PEOPLE!** Forgive Az for the **TERRIBLE** lack of updates, again, but I've been either too busy or too tired (or sick) to do more than just vegetate around. I hope that this chapter is long and good enough to stop you from killing me?

**SINCE** this chapter was getting way too long, I've decided to split it up so you can read some while I finish the rest. So yeah, things **will be a tiny bit slow** before they pick up again next chapter.

**ALSO:** Check out my profile for a forum dedicated to this fic, where you can get news on the progress of this fic (since I never update my bios at and rarely update the journal at DA)

**THANKS TO:** Vienrider (from ), who has helped me past a nasty writer's block. I appreciated the help. Too bad I was unable to insert that lil piece of nightmare. I'll prolly keep it for another occasion.

Well, looks like last chapter was really appreciated. Thanks to everyone! And thanks to you all for sticking around waiting for me to update. I appreciate it.

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and anything coming from Capcom. I do own the plot idea, though. And the writing. Yep. Writing's mine. And the plot. Plot is mine too, especially the concept of "Black Fury". Kindly refrain from stealing it.

Az.

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* * *

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Netto observed the twisted wreckage of the underwater base through the thin energy veil that protected him from the cold lake waters. More than half of the structure was gone while the remaining parts were either crumbled or so unstable that they could fall at the simple touch of a finger. Still, it was the perfect place to hide for the rest of the day, for, although both Dark Mu and SciLabs had surely detected his descent through the atmosphere, none would dare to trudge through those ruins.

"We really did a number on this place…"

_Serves them right._

Forte's dry words made the boy sigh as he moved past a girder jutting out of the muddy ground and through the entrance to one of the few still standing parts of the base. What little light reached the lakebed faded away, leaving them to float in darkness.

"I… suppose…"

Netto had to agree with his companion. Dark Mu, even if only attacking sporadically and with only Paladin and Ninja as capable agents, was starting to aggravate him as much as the lack of vegetables in his curry. That, however, was not what worried him the most. The evil organization could attack as many times as it wanted and he knew that he and Forte could take care of anything they could throw at them.

What worried him was the fact that as much as he wanted to go back home, tell his father everything and finally find a way to undo their Cross Fusion, Netto was feeling like not going back yet. And the more time passed, the more he found himself wandering away from SciLabs for longer periods of time.

Just like he was doing right now.

He wasn't running away from his problems, though. All he needed was just some time away from those stares full of hate and contempt coming from many scientists at SciLabs. No one ever dared to lift a finger against him and Forte again after the incident with the Leeches, especially since Enzan had clearly stated that whoever attacked or tried to harm him would result in them getting into serious troubles.

_Once we're back,_ Forte's calm and firm voice startled the boy out of his troubled thoughts, gaining his full attention. _Kid, you have to tell them. We can't go on like this forever. I want my independence back._

Netto looked down, barely seeing his cloak in the darkness. "I know…" he muttered, closing his eyes and trying to rest. The Life Aura had been extremely easy to master to the point he could maintain it without even focusing on it, but he was finding out that keeping it up and running for prolonged periods of times was taxing. And this was keeping it at a minimum. He had no clue how it worked during a battle, and he wasn't planning to test it yet.

"I know I have to tell them," the boy resumed after a while, letting his body relax and mind slowly drift into rest, knowing that the instinctual part of him would maintain the shield and wake him up if necessary. "It's just… recently there's this… _itch_ that I get every time we're at SciLabs. As if there was… _something_ in there that makes me want to leave the moment I step inside…"

Forte frowned upon hearing those words, worried that his host would stop going back to the only place and people that seemed to be able to find a solution to their problem without the obsession of using him for some obscure plot to dominate the world. He had no intention of being stuck with the boy for the rest of their lives, and considering that a navi never died of old age…

_If you don't talk with at least that father of yours, I will force you,_ Forte used a menacing tone of voice, but the lingering sadness he felt coming from his host made him falter, even if just slightly. It was annoying to feel something that was not his and that he had cast away long ago, but as much as he tried, he couldn't find it in himself to be angry.

Perhaps he was just too tired to even care about it…

"Maybe you should really do it…"

Netto's tired words broke Forte out of his wandering thoughts, making the navi sigh inwardly. _Perhaps,_ he conceded after a few seconds of silence. _We'll just catch the man out of SciLabs and talk to him then._

The only answer he received from his host was a murmur before he was left alone with his thoughts as Netto fell into a light slumber. Forte busied himself with the proximity scanner for a few minutes to make sure no one was sneaking on them, then, when nothing moved, he let the program run in the background and let his mind rest. With nothing else to do, and knowing that they would instantly wake up if someone approached them, he let himself fall into rest.

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* * *

.

He had been wandering the Undernet for a long time now, but his thirst for revenge against humanity for what they had done to him hadn't been satisfied yet. A gust of wind and dust assailed him and he huddled into his cloak, gritting his teeth.

He did not know, nor cared, why humans had created the Undernet to look as a desert, nor why they had replicated gusts of wind that lifted the sand into the cyber air. Maybe it was just humanity wanting to play gods and create a world that they could fully control, unlike the one they lived in. It didn't matter, though. Whatever the reason was, it was annoying.

That was his life. Wander the desert each day in search of a worthy opponent, delete whoever tried to do the same to him and hate humanity for everything they did and for everything they were.

Until…

Forte stopped in his track as his thoughts were suddenly pierced by emotions that were not his, slowly dissipating the haziness of the dream. "That is right…" he murmured to himself. "I haven't been in the Undernet for a while now…"

Ignoring the annoying presence of his host at the back of his mind, Forte glanced past the rim of his cloak and into the depths of the sandstorm and felt a sudden urge to leave that place. He was _not_ in need of company, or someone to talk to, especially if it was that Hikari boy, but for some odd reasons the emptiness and the silence of his dream was getting on his nerves.

He wanted action. No, he needed it.

Beside the occasional fight against another foolish navi in search of glory or a group of viruses that were too stupid to stay away from him, his life in the Undernet had always been a quiet wandering, often thinking back at the past and hate it and everything that humanity stood for. But thinking about it now, that life looked… boring.

Forte frowned deeply, disgruntled at the sudden realization. Perhaps he had been stuck with the human kid for way too long, but he was tired of just hiding away and fight for survival. Even the emotion of hate was becoming old and stale. Almost disgusting…

"I am going to maul that kid…"

How he was going to do that, however, was something that he had yet to figure out. He had no idea of where to check within his core program for whatever was maintaining him tied to the human boy and he didn't dare to delete something while there was such a mess in the coding. His programs were still all there despite having moved around, plus some that had been forcefully installed in him, but there were some long strings of coding that he had absolutely no clue what they were for.

He remembered tampering with one a week or so earlier, and that resulted in his host becoming suddenly tired and unable to do more than curl in a corner. His heart had slowed down so much that for a moment Forte thought that the boy was going to fall into some sort of coma or stasis.

His musings were pierced by Netto's emotions once again and Forte found himself focusing on them. He had no idea of what his host was dreaming about exactly, but judging by the emotional pain he knew that it was a nightmare. "So… this is what he meant by me calling him..?"

It made sense now. Although he had been too deep into the nightmare to realize he had been having one, his inner turmoil had seeped into the boy's mind and made him aware. His 'hero complex' then had urged him to cross the boundaries between their consciousnesses and mess with his nightmare.

"It's… none of my business…"

But as those words left his mouth, the black navi was unable to ignore the continuous nagging from the boy he was tied to. Knowing that there was no way he was going to be left alone with his thoughts, Forte closed his eyes with a barely contained growl of anger.

He had no instructions about how to reach his host's consciousness, nor Netto had ever told him how he did that, but as he focused better on the lingering presence in his mind, he felt himself move somewhere else. It was like teleporting from a section of the internet to another with the use of a link, and when he reopened his eyes he saw that the desert had been replaced by a black nothingness.

Save for a boy huddled in front of him with his head hidden between his knees.

Forte frowned as he looked down at the trembling kid. This was not the kind of dream, or nightmare, he had imagined Netto would have. He could understand about dreaming of terrible monsters lurking in the darkness and waiting to eat the dreamer, but this was something he could not understand.

The boy was just sitting there, doing nothing but shake and rock back and forth, too deep into his nightmare to realize that Forte was standing in front of him.

"Hikari…" the navi's voice echoed into the empty space. "Wake up, Hikari."

When Netto did not reply to his call, Forte lost his patience. This was not like it was supposed to go. The boy was supposed to wake up within the dream as soon as he reached him, just like it had happened with him in the past. This was… wrong.

He was not worried for his host, though. It was just that his pain was annoying. He hated it.

"Damn it, Hikari," with a growl, the navi grabbed Netto by his arm and hauled him to his feet, finally seeing his face as something clattered to the floor. The boy was not crying openly like a spoiled kid would do, but the tears and the intense pain coming from him weren't stopping and it made Forte falter in his insults.

Being forcefully moved, however, woke Netto up with a start and his brown eyes locked with Forte's red ones. "It's… a nightmare…" he muttered shakily as he shifted his gaze from the navi to the object on the ground. He let out an exhausted laugh as he crouched down and grabbed a blue PET with his family's emblem on it, completely ignoring the fact that Forte was still painfully grasping his arm. "Just _that_ stupid nightmare again…"

Forte did not care, but his eyes traveled to Rockman's PET anyway. There was no blue navi greeting his cold stare, just a word that cyclically rolled through the screen without stopping. It read 'deleted' in cubical letters, as if just the meaning was not enough.

"I won't let it happen again…"

Netto's words made the black navi look back up at him. The boy had stopped crying, but he was still shaken and had not moved his eyes away from the empty screen of the PET in his hands. "Once was enough…" he continued, letting Forte know that this was not just a simple nightmare, but something that had really happened.

And Forte knew that it was true. Not just because he had those partial memories from the data he had absorbed from Pharaohman after his deletion, but because there was no way Netto would lie on something like that. It just was not in his character. For the first time in his life he could trust a human to say the truth.

"I don't believe in backups…" Netto continued after a while. "I can't explain it, but it wouldn't be the same… he would have his memories, his abilities, but… he wouldn't be Rockman. But Rockman survived. His memories were split amongst all our navi friends and all he needed was a new frame…"

Netto gave a tiny smile at the memory and Forte felt the relief cast the pain away. How a small kid like him could suffer so much for a navi was impossible to understand for him. Every human on the planet did not care if their navis were deleted. All they needed to do was use the back up or get a new one…

But the boy was proving that he was different from all the others. He could understand the importance of a navi and considered them to be an equal to his race. For him, to be made of flesh or data didn't matter. The end result was the same.

Someone that was capable of feeling, and not just a thing to discard.

"But I can't let it happen again… to none of my friends," Netto's voice was tired, but at the same time firm. And when the boy looked up at Forte, the navi saw pure determination written on his face. "I promised it to myself."

Forte's face morphed from neutrality to a frown and then to neutrality once again as he was unable to accept those words and the truth they carried. "I don't need your empty promises, human," his voice sounded tired and distant, and again, for the first time in his life he didn't care about trying to maintain his mask of hatred. It was just too much and too fast, even for him. "I have no use for them."

Netto's eyes narrowed when Forte released his arm and turned around to walk away. "Still…" he said as he grabbed the navi by his upper right arm and stopped him. He wasn't as strong as him, but if Forte wanted to be left alone he had to tie him down before he let him go. "Like it or not, Forte, you're my friend now. And you can count on it. Hell is going to freeze over before I let someone hurt you."

For a moment, the navi was unable to pull his arm free from Netto's grasp. "No, you won't," he replied after a few seconds of silence. "You are a human, and humans are all the same."

They started to fade into darkness, and both knew that they were waking up. Still, Netto had enough time to reply.

"No, we're not. And I will show you. Even if it's the last thing I do."

.

* * *

.

It was finally an official order, and it came from someone with a higher ranking than what his NetSavior status granted him. No one had to act against, and harm, Forte until further orders were issued.

Still, the reunion had lasted far longer than everyone had anticipated, with Commissioner Kifune asking questions about Forte and his assistant Manabe taking notes. Enzan wasn't exactly happy to have been called to NetPolice's headquarters so late in the night, especially for a thing that he had thought he had solved several days earlier, but he couldn't blame his superiors for being worried and anxious over Forte's presence at SciLabs either.

Kifune didn't know everything about Forte's past, not like Hikari Yuichiro did. He only had some records of ten years ago and several tales from the net to go by, which both gave the black navi a bad light.

But the white haired boy was siding with Netto's father on believing in Forte being an ally. He wasn't exactly on friendly terms with the rogue navi, but so far the 'fabled' God of Destruction had done nothing unless he was provoked.

"I would attack back too if someone wanted to destroy me…" he muttered after a while. He hadn't been there when a group of scientists had decided that Forte had to be eliminated, but Doctor Hikari had recounted the episode to him to the smallest of details.

Enzan could understand it well enough. The recent episodes of Forte's madness had been brought forth because the navi had been openly attacked, sparking that survival instinct and deep hatred that he had recently repressed in favor of gaining help from SciLabs.

"Still, I have no idea why Forte is waiting so much to ask for what he needs…" he muttered as he looked at the darkened sky through the window of the office. No star greeted him back, meaning that the weather forecast had been right in saying that it would rain all night.

The red PET on the table beeped once and the holographic display came to life, showing a musing Blues. "I am not sure, Enzan-sama, but Doctor Hikari is certain that Forte will talk when ready. Otherwise he wouldn't spend almost all of his time at SciLabs," the navi then frowned, unable to understand why the situation felt so odd. "Still, the more I watch him, the more there is something strange with him."

"Yes," Enzan confirmed as he watched the dark clouds finally release their load on the city. "We're missing something, but until we find the right piece of the puzzle, we can only wait. Hopefully, now that Commissioner Kifune has issued the order to not capture or harm him, he will decide to talk sooner than later."

Operator and navi remained in silence for a while, both with their mind lost in the recent events, until Blues had the presence of mind to check the clock. "We should go, Enzan-sama," he said, noticing that it was past midnight and that everyone had left, leaving the building empty save for those few people of the night shift.

Nodding once, Enzan turned around and grabbed his PET from the table. "Good idea. Forte might be back to SciLabs," he replied as he walked out of the office and into the dimly lit corridor. "And if not, I want to know if they have tracked him down."

Letting his feet carry him towards the nearest elevator, the boy spent the next minutes trying to sort out the recent events and what he knew of Dark Mu and their obsession with capturing Forte. Whatever code the navi had, it was something really important to them. His mind was so busy that he almost missed when his foot produced a splash instead of a soft thump when he crossed another corridor.

Curious, he looked down at the floor as he stepped back and noticed a small puddle of water. Or better, a trail of puddles. Although almost invisible because of the lack of good lighting, Enzan still managed to follow the trail with his eyes and discovered that while the right end disappeared around a corner, the one to the left led to an open window at the end of the corridor.

Instantly suspicious, the boy narrowed his eyes and reached the window to look outside. There were no ropes hanging from the window or the roof, nor ladders leaning against the wall. "To be able to enter through the window on the fourth floor without a climbing tool… no human can do that."

Considering that Dark Mu's agents were laying low and had no interest in the NetPolice, there was only one navi left that he knew of. With the ability to fly, Forte could easily reach any place he wanted in a matter of seconds.

Having thought the same thing, Blues glanced at the trail of water on the floor with worry from his place on Enzan's belt. "Should we give the alarm?"

The boy frowned and turned around to follow the trail. "No," he replied, trying to keep his walk calm and even. If it was really Forte, and he was sure of it, it was best to not try to sneak up on him without at least a Cross Fusion backing him up. "Giving the alarm might cause an unnecessary fight. However, be ready to call SciLabs for a Dimensional Area."

There were no further words between the two as Enzan turned corner after corner, eyes shifting from the floor to each dark corner he encountered, knowing that Forte could easily hide in one of them and ambush him if he wanted.

Instead of an ambush, however, the boy found the navi standing still in the middle of the corridor with his back facing him. Barely visible in the dim light, soaking wet from finned helmet to feet and with a cloak dripping water on the ground, Forte seemed unsure of which way to go and was muttering to himself.

For a single moment, Enzan thought that his arrival had gone unnoticed, but when the navi turned slightly around to look at him with his hidden gaze, the boy stopped just outside the other's reach. Although he was a calm and patient person, standing there and waiting for Forte to do or say something gave the NetSavior the sudden urge to grasp the navi by his cloak and shake him while demanding for answer.

"Why aren't you talking yet?" Enzan suddenly asked when the tension he felt reached levels that he could barely restrain. "Where is Netto?"

No verbal answer came from Forte, just a frown of his mouth as the navi slightly tilted his head to the side in thought. An action that made Enzan curl his hands into fists, tense his shoulders and feel like he was talking to a wall. "Is he alright?" blue eyes narrowed and the boy took a tentative step forwards. "Is he even alive?"

The frown on Forte's mouth deepened for a few seconds, then turned upwards into an amused smile before the navi turned around and continued his silent walk down the corridor. Without a clear answer and not wanting to let the navi out of his sight, Enzan followed. There was no way he was going to let him wander NetPolice's headquarters and do what he wanted undisturbed.

.

* * *

.

Sitting almost all day at his desk and having Rockman browse the net in search of any kind of information that could help him find his son was something Yuichiro Hikari found to be extremely tiring despite not moving at all.

True to his self, Rockman hadn't stopped one moment, too, and had gone as far as searching through Sharo and Amerope's nets and servers. He had heard rumors, a lot of them, but none had helped him in finding what was happening to his operator and why he hadn't come back yet despite being in the city. The only good thing about visiting those places was that every friend Netto had there had promised to keep their eyes open for anything odd that might happen in their country. Laika had even went as far as involving Sharo's military while Raoul had instantly gone to search for information in the darkest parts of his city.

"You two should take a rest, Yuichiro."

Cossack's voice suddenly filling his silent laboratory startled Yuichiro back to reality and made the younger of the two men place Rockman's PET onto the desk and turn around to face the other. "Perhaps you are right," he replied with a tired smile. There was nothing more he and his son's navi could do at the moment. "Still…"

The fact that his son was out there, under the rain and with hundreds of enemy navis looking for him, made Yuichiro unable to rest as he should, or go back home and give his wife some deserved comfort.

"Dad," Rockman's voice made both men look at one of the monitors on the desk as the navi finally returned back from the internet. "I think Doctor Cossack is right. Maybe… maybe tomorrow we'll find something…"

The blue navi wasn't happy to admit that he had to take a rest. He had battled powerful navis, had gone through harsher feats than running around the net, but he could clearly see it too. His creator, the man he considered a father, was slowly falling prey of exhaustion.

Everyone had the feeling that the answer to Netto's whereabouts was just within reach, but Dark Mu's attacks, the worry for the missing boy and Forte's mysterious presence was making everyone too stressed to be able to think clearly. And now that the evil organization was laying low, it was time to stop for a moment and rest as much as they could.

Cossack smiled at the navi and grasped the wheeled chair, pulling it away from the desk and turning it around so that Netto's father was facing the opposite direction and he was standing at his side. "Rockman is right," he commented with a soft smile. "Get some rest, tomorrow is another day and you'll be able to think better with a refreshed mind."

His green eyes then fell on the family photo Yuichiro kept on the other end of the desk and his face became serious. "Yuichiro," he called as he walked around the sitting man and grabbed the framed picture. "This is your son, isn't it?"

Netto's father grabbed the photo and leaned back onto the chair. The boy was smiling cheerfully at the camera while he and his wife stood next to each other behind him. The picture had been taken a couple of years earlier, during one of the rare days when he was at SciLabs to personally oversee some project.

"Yes, that's my boy," the man replied, eyes filled with both happiness and sadness. Remembering happy times helped lessening the pain and worry, but at the same time it reminded him that Netto was still missing. And it ached terribly. Now he understood how his son felt when he was away from home for months. "Why?"

Scratching his blonde beard, and idly wondering for a moment if he should at least trim it, Cossack replayed his recent encounter with Forte. His face had been different from the one he had given him, and it wasn't just the darkened red eyes or the purple streaks. It was rounder, and now he understood why it had felt so familiar. Netto's face was a lot like his father's.

"Because," he started after a couple of seconds of careful contemplation as he pointed at the boy's smiling face. "The eyes are different, but now I'm sure of it. This is the face I saw when I looked at Forte."

Yuichiro looked up at his colleague in confusion for several long seconds, his hands and the photo they were holding resting on his lap, then things just started to fall into the right place. Forte's sudden change of heart, Netto leaving messages without getting caught, Dark Mu talking like Forte was aiding the boy… everything made sense. Well, almost everything. There were still a few things that needed to be explained, but those were minor details at the moment.

His mouth twitched, and Yuichiro found himself chuckling for a couple of seconds before exploding into a liberating laugh. "I… I can't believe he fooled me so well," he said after calming down enough to talk and rub the tears away from his eyes. "No wonder Forte never talks, his voice would instantly give his secret away!"

"Dad, you mean," as he spoke, Rockman was shifting his eyes between the two men and the barely visible photo Yuichiro was holding. "That Forte... is Netto?"

The blue navi suddenly felt a mixture of guilt and anger towards himself as he realized that, for all the time 'Forte' had been at SciLabs, he had never recognized his operator. The hints had been there, clear as day now that he thought about it. Forte always eating or getting the food Netto loved, the small movements he did… and then there was that sense of familiarity he always got when around the black navi, but that he had always thought that it was because of having been merged with him once.

"I… I should have paid more attention…" he whispered, looking down at his feet in sadness. "I knew there was something… odd about him. But I was so busy looking for Netto that I never realized he was already back, nor bothered looking at Forte in the face… not even when he was unconscious…"

But at the time he didn't want to risk having 'Forte' wake up right when he was so close. The navi never liked being so close to someone unless he was fighting, and Rockman felt the need to respect his privacy. If only he had ignored that and had just looked at his face, now things would be different and Netto wouldn't be somewhere out there under the rain.

Or maybe not. If his operator had willingly kept his real identity hidden, then maybe there was a good reason for it. Netto might be a young kid, but Rockman was sure that the boy knew what he was doing. "I hope you're alright, Netto-kun…"

Replacing the framed photo back on the desk, Netto's father stood up and started to pace back and forth in front of the two, gaining their attention. His lab coat, dirty with a few coffee stains and some purple marks, flapped wildly behind him as his mind connected the pieces with each step he took. "I'm not sure how or why, but… it makes sense! It's the only possible explanation even if it's so… farfetched."

Unable to do anything but watch as Yuichiro became suddenly filled with energy, Cossack waited for the younger man to stop a moment and actually explain what was happening. He had seen him like that a few times in the past, and there was no way someone could snap him out of it without the use of a bucket of water. Something that someone once had done, but that was another story.

"Cross Fusion," Netto's father continued, ignoring the confused stares from the two spectators and sitting back at the desk to type several data on the computer that only he could understand. "A navi and a human combining in the real world within a Dimensional Area. I should have connected things sooner…"

"Dad," Rockman tried to call for his creator's attention as he watched line upon line of data fill the screen of the other computer. "If that's true, then how could they successfully gain Cross Fusion when they have no synchronization? And last time I saw him, Forte still hated humans. There is no way Cross Fusion would work like that…"

"But what if it was imposed?" Cossack suddenly supplied from his spot behind Yuichiro. He might not know everything, but he had always been quick in catching up. "If a navi can manifest itself in the real world with the use of a Materializer, then maybe they found a way to attain Cross Fusion outside a Dimensional Area too, and without the need of synchronization."

Yuichiro stopped typing at the computer and frowned. "We need to find them," he said as he wondered how well Netto was doing paired up with a bloodthirsty navi like Forte. He knew that his son had a strong will, but the recent episodes of madness worried him. "Their current fusion might be harmful for both of them…"

Despite discovering that Netto had been the one moving around and that Forte might still be his old raging self, Yuichiro was still genuinely worried for him as much as he was worried for his son. And then there was that episode where those dark red eyes had stared at him and he had thanked him for his help. That hadn't been Netto. Or better, it hadn't been just him.

His instinct of father told him that deep down, Forte had changed…

"Oh my…" As his train of thoughts brought him back to the moment he had been stitching Forte's side, Yuichiro felt his heart sink. "How can I call myself a father when I can't even recognize my son?" he asked himself in a whisper as he remembered how he had been stitching that ugly cut on his son's side.

The hand suddenly placed on his shoulder brought him back to reality and brown eyes looked up at his colleague. "Let's just find them for now," Cossack said as he grabbed the intercom's receiver and held it up to Yuichiro. "And ask for an explanation when we know they are alright."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Well, it's almost my birthday, so I'm going to give myself a present and give you the next chapter sooner than I did with chapter 17. Nothing much to say beside…

**Enjoy!**

Oh, and I don't own the exe cast. I do own the plot and Paladin and Ninja, though, so please refrain from stealing/copying it.

**And please,** forgive me for any errors that there are. This is not betaed, and errors tend to escape my eyes when I give it a second read before posting.

.

* * *

.

_He is not going to let us alone, is he?_

Forte was starting to get really annoyed by the boy that was following them through the entire building while Netto desperately tried to remember where he had seen the archive room. Normally, the brunette would stop and consult a computer, or find one of those maps hanging from the wall, but it would be too strange if he did that in front of Enzan.

Not to mention that it would make the white haired NetSavior even more suspicious than he already was.

Said boy was currently walking a few steps behind him, silent as ever, but with such an intense gaze that Netto felt like his cloak would catch fire if it wasn't so wet. "I don't think he's going to let us go until he gets his answers…" he muttered back, trying to not be heard by his friend. Hard thing to do since the floor they were on was filled only by the faint sound of rain. "And knowing him, he won't back down easily."

For a moment, Netto felt the sudden urge to tell Enzan to just stop following, but when he turned a corner and recognized the door at the end of the corridor, he forgot about it. Glistening in the dim light, the door was made of heavy metal and had an electronic lock in place of a handle, meaning that whatever was behind it was important. "That's the place," Netto muttered as he silently walked towards the door.

He stopped, however, when Enzan rushed in front of him and blocked the way. The white haired boy was standing straight up and had his arms crossed in front of his chest while his blue eyes tried to catch a glimpse of his face. There was no real fear, just apprehension that the navi would cause damage.

"What is it that you want from the archives, Forte?" he asked, mouth set into a light frown. "And don't tell me that it's none of my business, because it is. I'm an official, and as one, it is my duty to defend this place if you plan to cause troubles."

Netto's mouth twitched, then he reached forward with his right hand. Instead of grabbing and hurling his friend away like Forte would do, he simply moved him away and placed his fingers onto the device's infrared port. For a moment nothing happened, but then he felt the transmission of data go up and down his arm, telling him that his partner had started to work on hacking the lock without making the alarm go off.

And true to his abilities, Forte didn't take long in overriding the security of the lock. The red light on the device went out while the green one next to it blinked to life with a sharp beep and, accompanied by a soft click, the door opened was unlocked.

Excited to finally know the real truth of Forte's past and why his creator had never helped him, but at the same time feeling his friend's reluctance into looking at the past and a still open wound associated with it, Netto pushed the door open and stepped inside, completely ignoring the glare coming from Enzan.

The room was long and narrow, with both walls lined with shelves overstuffed with folders and loose papers covered in a thick layer of dust. At the far end, almost hidden under piles of boxes and other stuff, the desk and the computer on it were old and unused.

"They should clean this place out sometimes…" Netto muttered as he slowly walked through the room while sidestepping the occasional box or pile of folders. "This place is… messier than my room when mom doesn't clean it for a week…"

Which was saying a lot, because his room tended to be as much of a mess as any boy his age could make it.

Grateful that Forte hadn't made one of his snarky comments about how humans were horrible things that deserved to be completely erased from the planet, Netto pushed the button on the computer and watched in trepidation as it took several minutes to turn on and completely load its operative system and all of its components.

Shifting papers and random gadgets out of the way, the boy grabbed keyboard, mouse and started to navigate through all the programs in the list. There was no way that he was going to spend days by manually browsing all the files, nor he was going to force Forte into looking for them, so he opened a searching program.

And thus, his search began.

Ignoring Enzan always hovering behind his back and probably musing why Forte was using the computer like a normal human when he was perfectly capable of hacking into an obsolete system, Netto based his search on files dating around ten years ago that regarded SciLabs.

It was a long and taxing task, especially since he could feel his white haired friend breathing down his neck and Forte becoming even more reluctant to the idea of knowing the truth, but when he finally found something, things became somewhat… surreal.

While Forte's restlessness came to a sudden stop and he became deadly quiet, Enzan stopped glaring at the back of the navi's head and shifted his attention onto the monitor as he caught sight of a black and white picture of Doctor Cossack.

The man looked extremely sad and his eyes were cast downwards as the policemen of ten years ago took that photo. His hands, cuffed in front of him, were holding up a small, white signboard with a series of black numbers imprinted on it. Behind him, a white wall with some lines and some more numbers to signal how tall he was.

Feeling strangely calm, Netto scrolled down the file and started to read the data. It wasn't much, just his name, his age, what he had been doing at the time before being arrested and other small details of his persona, leaving out the information that he really needed.

The boy was not satisfied. Just seeing the man's picture and his warrant wasn't enough. He needed to know who had given the police false information and why they had believed this informant so easily to instantly arrest a well respected professor without first making sure what was the real truth.

"Here," Enzan's voice almost made him jump out of his suit, but Netto managed to maintain his calm and took the offered folder that had suddenly appeared over his shoulder. It was thin, full of dust like the rest of the stuff in that room and had a big stamp saying 'case closed' on the front.

Silently, he started to browse through pages yellowed by years, reading everything, even the smallest of the lines and the badly scribbled notes in a blue pen at the edges of the pages. When he was done reading, he calmly closed the folder and stared at it, finally knowing why his father considered Cossack such a great man despite what the black navi believed.

Forte's creator had never meant to kill the one that he considered a son, nor he had ever meant to hurt him or had ever regretted giving him life. Someone at SciLabs had taken the opportunity of Alpha's incident, whatever that was, to enact a plan that he, or she, had been planning for a while.

Unfortunately, when the truth came out, the damage had already been done. Betrayed, Forte had left with hate and rage filling his heart. Cossack, feeling as much betrayed as the navi he had created, disappeared the day after the incident and the police was never able to discover who had given them fake information.

But Netto knew.

For a moment brown eyes flashed dark red as the boy felt sudden rage swell up from the pits of his stomach, then, taking a deep breath to calm himself, he stood up, nodded in thanks to Enzan and walked out of the room. All the while never letting go of the folder he had just read.

"I know who did this…" he hissed as he aimlessly walked through the corridors in search of a window. Enzan was rushing after him, but he barely paid him any attention. "And he is going to get a piece of my mind."

While Netto stomped his way through NetPolice's headquarter, Forte was unable to think. There were no words to express how he felt. Shock was not enough of a word to describe his feelings. For a moment the 'hit with a bucked of ice cold water' came to mind, but even that was far from the truth.

Ten years spent hating his creator, believing that he had ordered his deletion, that he was disgusted with how his son had turned out… ten years of an open wound that never really stopped hurting, of him trying to cover the pain with anger and thirst for revenge…

And all because of a grudge someone else had against him.

He had been betrayed, yes, but not by his creator. Cossack, the man that always said he understood him like no one else could ever do, his 'father'… He had been betrayed too, and by the people that he had considered friends and colleagues.

_He… never meant…_

At the moment, Forte felt strangely devoid of hatred and anger towards the man that had betrayed both him and his creator. He wasn't even sure that all this was happening, that what he had read through the eyes of his host had been real. It all felt like a really weird dream…

The two were so deep into their own thoughts that they had never realized how far Netto had walked from that dusty room. One moment they were rushing out, and the next they were standing in front of the locked entrance at the bottom floor of the building. Enzan, still behind them, was breathing slightly faster than normal, meaning that he had been rushing to keep up with the cloaked navi.

Netto watched him stop at the counter and let Blues log into the system, probably to open the door before Forte decided to blast it. "I… never expected… something like that…" he commented suddenly, his fingers tapping on the wooden surface while he watched his navi enter the correct password in the security system. No wonder Forte hated humans so much. "I…"

Enzan paused as he turned around and cast his eyes on the silent navi. Forte was standing still in the middle of the entrance hall and was looking past the glass doors with a frown on his barely visible mouth.

Outside, under the heavy rain, dozens of viruses and navi were advancing at a slow pace, almost as if they didn't need to catch them unprepared. The Mettools, composing the first line of the enemy group, reached the weak glass barrier and broke it with a single hit from their pickaxes.

Alarms blared loudly and Netto instinctively dropped the folder he had been holding and brought his hands to the sides of his head to block the ear splitting sound. "It's… it's so loud…" he gasped as he backed away from the nearest speaker hanging from the ceiling. He was so distracted that he never noticed the navis command the viruses towards him.

"Blues, call SciLabs," Enzan spoke to his navi with an undertone of urgency as he rushed forwards to grab the dropped files from the ground. A folder like that was too important to be left around, and Enzan had a feeling that it was the only copy existing and he needed it to bring justice where it lacked for ten years.

Netto would do that.

While his operator grabbed Forte with his free hand and dragged him towards the counter where he had left his PET, Blues opened a video link with the main laboratory at SciLabs and silently greeted the person on the other end.

Since the Dimensional Area was something that was needed at any time of the day, Doctor Hikari had scheduled turns that some scientists had been willing to take. And it was one of these people that answered the call. With black hairs and eyes, the young man had a sleepy face as he greeted the navi and started to activate the generator and set the coordinates.

"Enzan-sama," Blues's call over the blaring alarms went almost unheard by his operator, who was busy hiding Forte behind the counter. The black navi was still clutching at his head when he was sat on the ground and seemed to be unable to move on his own, as if paralyzed.

The building was then enchased into a Dimensional Area, giving the world inside its walls psychedelic colors that would give people not used to its effects a severe case of nausea. Luckily Enzan had overcome that a long time ago and Blues, being a navi, was unaffected by it.

Ignoring the grunts of pain coming from the downed Forte, the white haired boy placed the folder he was holding into a nearby metal drawer on the counter and quickly inserted the Synchro Chip into his PET, initiating that procedure that would enable him to fight with his navi as one being.

As always, light enveloped him, lifting him up into the air, and the data of his navi quickly enchased him. "Let's be quick," he muttered to himself and to Blues, now merged in a single entity with him, as the shield popped with a glassy sound and dropped them back to the ground. No matter how many times he fused with his navi, the feeling of Blues's power running through his body always felt wonderful.

Raising his right arm up and summoning his default sword, Enzan quickly scanned the enemy crowd with calculating eyes. The viruses that Dark Mu had sent this time, save for the Mettools, had been taken from the deepest recesses of the Undernet, making the incoming fight not easy for the NetSavior.

Sure, he was stronger than them and could delete them with a single blow, but the building would suffer heavy damage from the powerful attacks.

"We have to be careful, Blues," he spoke to his navi as he jumped past the counter and took a defensive stance. "We can't have this building collapse. There are still people inside…"

_Enzan-sama,_ Blues's always helpful voice filled his ears as his operator kept his eyes glued on the enemy. _Taking care of the alarm seems to be the best course of action. If we can get Forte to join the fight, it'll end sooner._

The boy nodded and glanced at the nearest speaker. "Looks like they caught on too…" he muttered as he watched a navi order some strong viruses to stand guard around the three sound emitting devices. "They are going to use this to their advantage and try to get to Forte…"

Boy and navi readied themselves as the weak Mettools advanced at a slow pace towards them, their pickaxes hitting at the ground every two steps they took. The sounds their tools produced was steady and drumming above the loud alarm, shaking the ground enough that potted plants and chairs slightly moved around with the vibrations.

But the Mettools weren't what Enzan was worried about. Not even the Undernet viruses posed a problem to him. What he was worried about was the fact that the navis commanding the not so intelligent digital beasts had their own operator backing them up.

Which meant, despite his over-the-top ability at battling, someone could still land a lucky shot on him and render him unable to fight. Or even come up with an effective strategy to corner him so that Forte was left defenseless in his paralysis.

Thinking about the black navi made Enzan cast a quick glace behind the counter. Forte had fallen to the ground on his side, still clutching at his head and shaking. If he wasn't so paralyzed and breathing in short and quick gasps, the white haired boy had the feeling that the navi would be howling in pain.

"Blues, do we have any backup?"

Enzan felt his navi hum in displeasure for a few seconds. _As soon as the Dimensional Area was deployed, Dark Mu started broadcasting a jamming signal,_ he explained as he tried once again to contact SciLabs and call for some help. _We are alone unless we get rid of the interference or we get Forte in conditions to fight._

Blue eyes turned towards the nearest speaker and the boy frowned deeply. "Which mean leaving him unprotected long enough to get past the viruses to destroy those speakers…"

There was also the option of releasing his Cross Fusion and have Blues hack into the system to stop the alarms from there, but that would leave him in a worse position that he was now. After all, what could a normal boy in his early teens do against a horde of viruses?

_Enzan-sama,_ Blues suddenly called as the viruses slowly closed in, almost as if they savored making him feel cornered. _Retreating seems to be the best course of action as of now._

Taking a step backwards and bumping his back against the counter, Enzan nodded lightly in agreement to his navi's idea. There was no way he could handle several strong viruses, protect Forte from their clutches and save the entire building, and the people still in it, from crumbling under the heavy blows. He had to retreat to a less unstable battle ground and with less loud sounds filling the air so that the black navi would be able to defend himself.

Turning around to jump back over the counter to hoist Forte back on his feet, Enzan had barely the time to raise his sword and parry a heavy blow from a familiar white navi that sent him crashing into a column.

"I'm afraid I can't let you take him," Paladin's voice was strangely clear above the still blaring alarm as he shifted his attention from a dazed Enzan to the shaking boy at his feet. A frown appeared on his mouth, but he reached down with his free hand to grab Netto by the arm and hoisted him up onto his feet with ease.

He did have to release him, however, when he was forced to block a downward slash from Enzan's sword with his own. "I won't let Dark Mu goons lay their hands on Forte," the boy grunted, knowing too well that if the evil organization captured the black navi once again, things would become far more complicated than they already were.

The white navi's frown deepened as he stared up at his opponent. "Trust me on this," he replied as he tried to push him away and gain a better foot on the ground. Enzan right now was standing onto the counter, and that gave him a small edge against his enemy. "I'd rather go my own way, but orders are orders, and I'm bound to follow them."

While he remained in a lock with his enemy, Paladin glanced at his target. Forte, or better, Netto was still clutching at his head, but now that he had been hauled back onto his feet, he was stumbling away from the nearest speaker, and as a result, away from him too. With a suppressed grunt, he increased the strength of his push and successfully hurled Enzan away from him, then, with a quick movement of his free hand, he grabbed the paralyzed Netto by an arm and hurled him towards the other navis, who he had ordered to stand back until further notice.

Thanks to the fact that he was lighter than normal and that he could not fight back, Netto crossed the whole hall in an almost straight line before landing against one of the many Undernet viruses. There was a loud crack that resounded through the room for a second before it was drowned by the alarm, and Paladin winced, showing guilt on his face as the viruses surrounded the unmoving 'navi' and started to drag him further into their ranks.

Enzan was not of the same idea, though, and he quickly dashed towards the huddling viruses, slashing at them. Some where instantly deleted, some moved away in self preservation while a few were unharmed by his attack.

_It is no good, Enzan-sama,_ Blues commented as his operator observed how more viruses blocked his path once again, hiding Forte from view once again. _These viruses have been enhanced. Somewhat, they are more… intelligent…_

Enzan, however, had no time to muse about his navi's observations as he had to turn around and block another of Paladin's attacks. The white navi, still wearing a mask of dissatisfaction and regret, pushed against his opponent's blade to force him onto the ground. "What is Dark Mu up to anyway?" he asked between grunts of efforts.

Paladin paused for a moment, then retreated his sword and swung it in an upward arch to take his opponent by surprise. He was surprised to find, however, that Enzan had moved to the side and was now swinging at his side with a Wide Sword. "I… can't say that," the navi replied as their swords collided again, producing a sharp clashing sound. "I was ordered to not reveal the Emperor's schemes…"

The NetSavior briefly glanced at the mobs of viruses. They were still surrounding Forte and the navis and their operators were grinning amongst themselves, probably commenting on the well executed plan and their luck. "What is it that you can say then?" the boy asked as soon as he returned his attention back to his opponent.

Enzan was not sure why he was speaking with the white navi rather than fighting him. But there was something in the back of his mind that was telling him that, perhaps, Paladin wasn't the real enemy. Sure, he was with the enemy, but he had shown hints that he didn't like it when he had hurled Forte towards his allies. And now that he thought about it, his 'big mouth' was suspicious too.

His opponent gritted his teeth as he moved to the side, disengaging their swords to swing again from his left. There was no heart in it, and Enzan easily parried with his blade. "Nothing much, I'm afraid," Paladin eventually muttered loudly enough to be heard above the blaring alarms as he moved again to stand between the boy and the viruses surrounding Forte. "My emperor wants to keep his secrets, and as his creation, I have to obey his orders. The others, however…"

He left his sentence hang on purpose as he twisted his blade so that Enzan's slipped to the side, then lunged forwards. Unlike the previous attack, however, this was as vicious as Paladin was able to make it, and the sharp edge of his white sword cut into the boy's side, making him scream in pain and back away in surprise.

_Enzan-sama!_ Blues's voice was heavy with worry as his operator was hurt. He did not feel pain because the wound was not on his body, but thanks to the internal scanner program he had always active during fights, he could see the extension of the damage. And luckily, the wound was just a scratch.

"I'm fine, Blues," Enzan replied as he took a few breaths to steady his racing heart and lifted his sword again for another attack. But a simple Wide Sword was not good enough against Paladin. He either used complex tactics to corner him and get a chance to take Forte back under his protection, or he used stronger Battle Chips, or Program Advance, to really damage him so he would be unable to fight. Something that he could not do since a powerful attack would bring the entire structure down on his head.

Taking another quick glance at the room, Enzan decided that taking care of the alarms would be his first priority. There were three of them, hanging from the ceiling near the columns, and all of them were guarded by strong Undernet viruses. All around the room, the Mettools had dismissed their previous orders of standby in favor of mindless destruction while Paladin seemed to weight his own options and ponder on what was best to do.

Still, the white navi and his allies would never sit around while he went for the speakers.

_Perhaps if we mask our real intentions for something else…_

Enzan nodded at Blues's suggestion. Having fought with him for years, he instantly understood what his navi meant. "It's worth a try," he muttered as he released his current weapon and summoned a Variable Sword, lifting it up and getting ready to engage Paladin once again.

The white navi, seeing Enzan so determined to save the situation, smiled and took a defensive position, his other arm morphing into his shield. "I admire your determination, Ijuin Enzan," he commented as he slightly moved his right foot forwards to get ready for the next clash of swords. "But I can't let you win."

"Sonic Boom!" without wasting any time, Enzan had swung with his Variable Sword as fast as he could and let the energy of the slash fly towards his opponent. Who predictably moved to the side to avoid being cut in half.

Paladin frowned at Enzan's easy-to-read attack and bolted forwards with a quick succession of slashes, which were met by the boy's blade. "That was a cheap attack," he grunted out as he found himself locking swords with his opponent again. "You are better than that."

Enzan smiled, his body trembling as he countered the push from Paladin. He, however, didn't supply any information as it would just exploit his plan of using the fight to cover up his attempts at destroying the speakers. Briefly glancing past Paladin's shoulder he noticed that his first attempt at such tactic had given him excellent results.

Not only a few more viruses had been deleted in the wake of his attack, revealing the shaking form of the black navi laying on the ground, but the speaker hanging above them had been taken care of and, what little had survived from the devastating attack, was now onto the ground, sputtering a few sparks before going completely dead.

It was not enough, however, as the other two speakers continued their tasks of filling the room with their loud blaring. Forte was still paralyzed on the ground and, although he seemed to realize that one of the sources of the terrible sound had been destroyed, he still clutched at his head in pain.

Not wanting to let Paladin catch up with his tactic, Enzan moved a step back and lifted his sword in front of him. It wouldn't take long before the navi realized what he was doing, and once that happened, things would surely get more complicated than they already were.

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* * *

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As soon as the Dimensional Area was deployed over NetPolice's headquarters, SciLabs had lost contact with Enzan and Blues because of a strong jamming signal. That alone had sent Yuichiro into a worried frenzy. Knowing that Dark Mu's only objective was Forte and his son, he was sure that the new attack the criminal organization had just carried out was not to get information out of the building.

Now the man was pacing back and forth in front of the console that commanded both the Dimensional Area Generator and the large screen hanging on the wall. The monitor, still set onto the frequency used to communicate with Enzan's PET, showed nothing but black and white static as a couple of his colleagues were working as fast as they could to get past the interference.

He still hadn't told anyone about Forte's true identity. Both because there hadn't been any time to discuss it and because part of him knew that certain people would start to demand that Netto submitted to the rules of the adults and let them delete Forte.

Yuichiro had a lot of troubles believing that some of his colleagues would go that far to get rid of the black navi, but he had seen it himself. They had replicated those green colored converters and had used them to trap him against his will. And then everyone who knew Forte wondered why he hated humanity so much…

He stopped his pacing and shook his head, then glanced at Cossack sitting at the desk and patiently waiting for something to happen. Yuichiro sighed at that sight, wondering how the older man could maintain such calmness. Perhaps it was because he had faith in his son.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Yuichiro turned his gaze onto one of the men typing away at one of the many computers in the room. "How is it going?" he asked, worry heavy in his voice. Although he knew that Netto and Forte could take care of themselves, he had a bad feeling clawing at the pit of his stomach.

He was not sure why he was feeling that way. Maybe because 'Forte' had appeared rather sluggish lately. Not even eating had seemed to recover him as he should have. Perhaps it was because the two boys fused in one body had never really rested, and Dark Mu, and several people in SciLabs, hadn't given them much time for that.

The addressed man shook his head and paused briefly in his work. "Not good…" he replied with a frown, breaking Netto's father out of his thoughts again. "The signal is stronger than last time, and it comes from inside the Dimensional Area."

Yuichiro cringed at that and turned his gaze back at Cossack. He was as calm as ever, but as soon as his green eyes met with his brown ones, he knew that the man was as worried as he was.

"Dad," Rockman's voice sounded strangely clear and devoid of that faint electronic tone that always seemed to linger in the background when they spoke through the speakers. And when Yuichiro turned around, he understood why.

The blue navi stood in front of him, his PET clutched in his left hand as he looked at him with determined green eyes. He was using one of the Materializers that Yaito and the others had brought back from the underwater base and, although he appeared still not really used to the device, he held up the PET to Yuichiro. He was tired of just sitting around and waiting for his operator to come back on his own.

"I'm going there," he continued, knowing that with the jamming signal there was no way that he could get inside the Dimensional Area through the net. So maybe, just maybe, he could find a way in from the real world. "I'm going to help Netto-kun."

Yuichiro's eyes hardened as he understood and took the PET in his hand, briefly glancing down at it. Rockman had loaded it with the best Battle Chips that he and Netto possessed.

"Go on, Yuichiro," Cossack said as he smiled from where he was sitting. He would go too, but even if he was in excellent shape for someone of his age, he wasn't as young as Netto's father and would only be a weight to them. "Meijin should be here within minutes now, and he can take care of everything. Go, get your son… and mine."


	19. Chapter 19

**Ever Present Author's Note:** Well, well, well… here's another birthday update. 12 pages of pure action and adrenaline! Enjoy and forgive me for any error/typo/odd looking phrase of DOOM that might have escaped me.

**Just so you know:** Ninja's sword is not a sword that replaces his arm (like Paladin's or Enzan's), but a Japanese like sword. Saying this only to avoid getting you confused.

**Also:** Thanks to Vienrider and Azure Euphoria (both from ffnet) for helping me out. Again.

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* * *

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As he parried another attack with his Variable Sword, Enzan knew that he wouldn't last much longer. His strength was fading and at each of Paladin's blows he could feel the muscles of his arm shaking in effort.

_Enzan-sama…_

Blues was worried. It wasn't the first time that they fought together and he trusted his operator to know what he was doing, but it was the first time that the boy was pushing himself so hard. Their plan to use the fight against the enemy navi to destroy the speakers had failed when Paladin, suspicious of Enzan's bad fighting, had glanced behind his back and had seen one of the devices crumbling to the floor.

_We have to end this fight now…_

Enzan knew that. Any more time spent battling the white navi and he would lose. But Paladin was proving to be a really hard opponent to defeat. "Any… any suggestions?" the boy asked as he parried another attack directed at his head and tried to push the enemy away.

For the first time, the NetSavior was having troubles coming up with a good plan to replace his previous one. Paladin, although still appearing unsatisfied at how things were going, was pressing him so much that he had no real time to think.

Blues hummed gently in his ears, frowning at the situation he and his operator had ended up in. _There… there might be a way…_ he muttered, not really sure if his sudden idea would work or even be worth putting into action.

Enzan sidestepped to the left and let Paladin's sword cut empty air, then swung his own blade as fast as he could. There was a loud clash as his attack met with the white navi's exceptionally hard shield. "At this point, I'm open to any kind of suggestion…" he muttered as he jumped back to avoid getting his head cut.

_We do have an Electric Blade loaded, _Blues explained as he found the needed Battle Chips in the PET's system and readied them to be summoned at his operator's order. _With the exception of Paladin, the navis and viruses present within this room are either water or ice types. If… if we get the sprinklers of the fire extinguisher to turn on…_

There was no more to be said as Enzan understood his navi's idea. "That would take care of a lot of our problems…" he muttered, too softly to be heard over the still blaring alarm. "It might hurt Forte too, but since we have no other option…"

Jumping back again and taking several feet of distance from Paladin, Enzan discarded his Variable Sword and summoned another Battle Chip. His hand was overlapped with a red barrel that he pointed straight at his opponent. "Heat Shot!"

Fire erupted from the muzzle of the gun on his arm, burning everything that was in its way and forcing Paladin to jump to the side to avoid damage. Even after the shot ended, the flames continued burning for a few more seconds before dying out and leaving a long scorch mark on the ground, an acrid stench of burning artificial material in the air and dark smoke floating upwards.

Enzan had no time to observe all the damage he had done, though, for Paladin lunged at him again with his sword raised for a downward slash. A slash that the boy parried with a newly summoned Long Sword.

The swing was strong, however. So strong that it sent the boy crashing against the wall and crumble to the floor in a daze while pieces of plaster and dust fell onto him. The impact was so violent that his Long Sword reverted back to his arm and he remained still for several long seconds before he slowly staggered back onto his feet, his long hair falling around his shoulders.

He leaned against the dented wall at his back, feeling the surface further crumble and crack at the contact. Right arm limp at his side for the agonizing pain, Enzan watched as water started to fall from the sprinklers hanging from the ceiling, drenching everything within seconds, then shifted his eyes onto the group of viruses and navis.

Being of water and ice types, they were unfazed by the sudden 'rain', nor did they seemed to realize the potential danger they were now in. The navis and operators, however, became really worried when the water short-circuited the last speaker and the entrance hall became eerily quiet, with only the sound of the hissing water filling the air.

Paladin narrowed his eyes as he turned around to watch the black navi. He was still on the ground, probably not fully realizing that the alarm had stopped, while the viruses guarding him were huddling together to stop him from eventually getting up and walk away.

"Clever," he muttered, a small smile taking place of the unsatisfied expression he had kept since hurling Forte towards his allies. Enzan was still leaning against the wall and holding his right arm, too tired and weary to attack once again. "But what will you do now? You can barely stand."

The boy gave a half smile as he stood away from the wall and wobbled for a second, too stubborn to just lose the battle. "I'm still not out of the fight," he grunted as he summoned his standard sword to rush forwards again and use all the agility he had left in his body to sidestep his opponent's attack and cut him on the side.

Without any real strength left, he had to rely on speed, but he knew that even that would quickly fail if he didn't conclude the battle really soon. Perhaps Forte, now that the alarm had ceased to paralyze him, would get back up in time to do something, but again, the navi wasn't moving at all, as if unconscious.

"Blues," he called to his navi, crouching down to avoid getting cut in half. As much as he was getting tired and his body hurt, there was still a lot of fighting spirit in him, and Paladin seemed to start to feel fatigued too. Why he wasn't retreating with his captured target, however, was beyond his understanding for the moment. "Just… just a little more…"

The addressed navi frowned in worry, but nodded in understanding. There was no way they could lose this battle, and with the right tactic, his operator wouldn't have to endure the strain of the fight for much longer. Still, Enzan was physically at his limit and no matter the amount of will he had, he would drop to the ground soon, too tired to even lift a finger.

The fight went on for a few more minutes, with both opponents exchanging blows and parting to regain some breath. Enzan, the more tired of the two, was sagging on his own stance but simply refused to give up as he locked swords with Paladin once again and gritted his teeth as his arm was engulfed with more pain.

"Where… where is Netto?" he was trying to buy some time to enact the second part of his plan, for he knew that the white navi would stop him from using the Electric Blade to take down navis and viruses in one go. "What is it that you want from him, anyway? All you want is a code from Forte…"

Paladin grunted as he pushed the boy backwards a few feet, intent on pinning him against the wall. It was proving difficult, however, as Enzan just didn't want to stand down. "A tree is best hidden in a forest," he replied with an amused smile. "I thought that you'd realize where he his already…"

Screaming in frustration at another half answer, Enzan pushed the opponent navi away and backed away. "Let's finish this," he growled out breathlessly as he discarded his default sword and with a softly muttered command summoned the Electric Blade that had been previously prepared by Blues.

Things weren't going like he had planned them though, for when he raised his new sword into the air to prepare to strike at the wet ground, Ninja suddenly appeared in front of him with his unsheathed sword and easily parried with an upward slash, breaking his Electric Blade and forcing him to jump away to avoid getting cut.

"Ingenious," the black colored navi commented, looking directly into Enzan's shades and smirking widely as he backed away to stand next to his comrade. "But we have been ordered to bring him back with us at all costs, and we can't let you win this fight."

For some odd reasons, Enzan had the impression that Ninja, too, was unsatisfied with his current orders.

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* * *

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Netto was not sure how he had found his friend without being called first. Forte, after reading the real truth behind the incident of ten years ago, had become somewhat… absent. But more strangely than that was the fact that his appearance wasn't that of a human boy wearing an orange vest and a blue headband.

He couldn't see himself at the moment, but it was like he could feel the differences. The faint weight of the finned helmet on his head, the skin-tight black suit covered by a warm cloak and the thick armor pieces on his arms and legs.

Not to mention that he was floating a few inches from a ground that at the moment didn't seem to exist in the darkness of their shared dreamscape.

"Are you ok?"

Netto's voice boomed in the empty darkness, but the cloaked figure standing in front of him seemed unbothered by the loudness of it and continued to give the boy his back.

"I… leave me alone… I don't want to deal with… anything…"

The navi shifted in his stance, then just sat down in a huddle, his cloak hiding his body as cold rain fell from the black sky above. Netto wasn't an expert, but he knew a depressed mood when he saw one and, to tell the truth, sadness, melancholy and regret didn't pair well with a navi like Forte.

"When it rains, it pours, uh?"

He was doing small talk, hoping to distract Forte from his troubled thoughts, but deep down he wanted to just tell him that things were going to be ok. Yet, he refrained, knowing that something like that would only make the navi snort and further retreat into himself to ignore him.

"I told you to leave me alone," Forte snarled in anger and annoyance. "I don't want to deal with you, nor with anything that has to do with that world of yours. Not right now."

Netto paused. A part of him wanted to respect Forte's need to be left alone, but the other part wanted to help his friend. And when a friend was in need, the boy was unable to just turn around and walk away. That was the reason why, instead of leaving their shared 'dream', he floated in front of the navi and looked down at him with concern.

"You know I can't do that…" he replied after a while, trying to come up with an effective way to get Forte out of his current low mood without worsening the situation. It wasn't easy, though, because he felt that the navi was being much less willing to listen to him than usual.

Eventually, however, he decided to throw caution out of the window and moved closer to his friend. "Look, I know how you feel..." as those words left his mouth, he paused and frowned at them, feeling that they weren't exactly what he wanted to say. He felt Forte's troubled emotions, but just as echoes. "Uh... well I mean... I don't know _exactly_ how you feel but..."

Netto fumbled in his words, trying to think of something that would stop Forte from feeling so down and so disillusioned. He closed his eyes, letting some long seconds of silence accompany his train of thoughts as he searched for something that his dad or his friends would say in these occasions.

"But…" he resumed after a while, his voice soft, but at the same time firm with belief. "But whether or not what you lived through up until now was the result of a lie... That is beside the point! It's what you do from here on out that makes a difference in the future. "

As he fell silent once again, with the only sound of the rain pattering around them filling the dreamscape, Netto had the impression that Forte chose to disregard his words. That is, until the navi shifted his head upwards a bit in a sign that the boy had caught his attention.

"What are you trying to say?" His voice was neutral, but they both knew that it was just a hastily thrown-together mask to hide his sudden interest and confusion for those words.

"Well," Netto began, nervously scratching the back of his neck. He was never good at this kind of conversations, but as he dropped his arm back to his side, his eyes were full of confidence. "What I'm trying to say is that, despite your past being what it is, you can at least change the future to how you want it. That's something that you can do."

Forte frowned at those words, and felt doubtful that he could walk a new path, different than the one he had walked for so long. They would _never_ let him and would forever try to delete him. It was too late to just turn over a new leaf and pretend that his past had never existed. It was… stupid and childish.

One hand landed lightly on his shoulder, breaking him out of his train of thoughts and making him look up to regard the only human being that he came to grudgingly accept as companion. "You know…" Netto was smiling as he spoke, but that was not what made Forte pause in his protests.

Although the feeling was increased by the fact that Netto was almost his mirror image in physical appearance, the boy reminded Forte of himself when he was just a few months old, still new to the world and unaware of its cruelty. At the time he didn't care what he did was wrong or right, all he wanted was to help with the security. And now Netto was doing the same thing…

He didn't care if he was in the right or in the wrong, he didn't care what others thought of him for his choice. All he wanted was to help him.

"You're not alone in this. Not anymore. I'm on your side."

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* * *

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When Netto finally regained consciousness and opened his eyes, he found out that the rain he and Forte had been dreaming wasn't exactly a product of their imagination, but real water falling down from the sprinkles of the fire extinguisher system hanging from the ceiling. He was laying onto his stomach and his body was beyond sore.

For a moment he was confused as to why he had a splitting headache, not remembering what had happened before he lost consciousness, but then the memories returned and he groaned. "Stupid alarm…" he grunted out as he tried to stand up on his arms, only to find out that they were pinned behind his back and several hands were keeping him down.

Then cold started to seep into his body and the water that landed onto him started to freeze over, creating a thin layer of ice. Normally, he would just brush it off and get up, but as much as he tried, he was still being affected by paralysis. And the enemy navi was taking advantage of that to knock him out.

"Forte..?"

He wasn't sure why he had called for his friend, after all, it wasn't like the navi could do something about their situation. Still, Netto needed to know that Forte was back to being his usual self and would provide him with a suggestion or at least some words that would spark his fighting spirit, or even anger him. Anything would do.

_Get up, Hikari,_ the navi wasn't exactly back to his normal self, but him talking was a huge step onwards from the long minutes of silence. Not to mention that Netto's headache was also his, which prevented him from doing more than whisper softly. _Get their filthy hands off of us._

The boy grimaced, suddenly feeling a knee digging into his lower back. It didn't exactly hurt, but it was quite uncomfortable. "Easy to say…" for some odd reasons, the lighthearted banter with Forte lessened some of the pain in his brain. "But I'll get to it… just… just give me a second… I still don't feel too well…"

Saying that was an understatement. Muscles were still reluctant to respond to any command his dazed mind issued and energy was slow in returning. The extreme cold of the ice, now completely covering him and sealing his eyes shut, was making him even more sluggish while sounds became muffled. And although he was glad that his headache seemed to lessen with the lack of sharp noises, getting frozen was a problem they had to solve quickly.

_Damn it, Hikari!_ Forte hissed, trying desperately to gain control of their shared body like he had done during the close encounter with the plane, but failing. That episode had been too short to really understand how they had done it and once it was over, besides the feeling of being in total control and on top of the world, memories became fuzzy and vague, preventing him from doing it again. _If you don't get up now…_

Netto couldn't reply at the moment, but he could still hear Forte talk to him through the haziness of cold. His thoughts were slow and slurred, often blanking out for a few seconds before returning to focus on the navi's voice. He was tired and sleepy, but he understood that he needed to fight the drowsiness.

The boy moved the fingers of his right hand, feeling the ice crack at the movement, and Forte was so caught up in the moment that he did the same even if he had no control.

That was when things became suddenly clear and dark red eyes opened once again. Power surged forwards from the pits of both their consciousnesses and past the mental wall that Netto had unconsciously created to prevent it from overloading them. But this time it was different, and both boy and navi could feel it.

The power wasn't wild and it wasn't eating at them from the inside out. Instead, it was enveloping them in a safe embrace, collecting itself until they released it in an outward blast. Navis and viruses alike were deleted in the wake of the vicious blast of dark energy, and who survived was either too damaged or too dazed to stand back up.

Now released by their would-be captors, Netto wobbled onto his feet and felt the world return to normal. The headache, forgotten in the rush of energy, returned with a vengeance and the boy clasped both his hands to his head, gasping in pain and feeling Forte do the same.

With the sudden urge to leave and find a quiet place to lay down and rest, Netto took a dazed step towards the destroyed entrance door and was promptly stopped by something heavy hurled against his side.

The crash against the wall was unkind to his already sore body, and for a moment Netto felt like he was suffocating. Then he gave a loud cough and looked down at the weight resting on his lap. With wet white and black hair entangled around their limbs and a cracked visor, Enzan was staring right up at him.

He didn't seem to recognize him yet, though. Maybe it was because the blow had been hard on him as much he had been for Netto, or maybe it was because for that split second, Enzan had only seen his eyes, and not the whole face thanks to his ever present cloak. Either way, the boy was still left in the dark, although his suspicion about Forte hiding something had reached new levels.

But there was no time to stop and make sense of what he had seen.

Disentangling himself from his friend and waving his arms to get them free from the long hair and his ever present scarf, Netto stood up and quickly scanned his surroundings. Paladin was looking at him from the other end of the large entry hall, with his sword and shield relaxed at his sides, as if waiting for him to say something.

Or as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't…

_Be on your toes,_ as he saw the white navi standing there seemingly without a care in the world instead of trying to capture them, Forte had the strong suspicion that there was something fishy going on. _He is up to something…_

Netto looked at Paladin for a few more seconds as Enzan staggered to his feet, using the wall for support. Then things just… went downhill from there.

Ninja, being the furtive navi that he was, had sneaked up on them with ease while they were too busy trying to understand how they had ended up in a heap on the floor. His sword, a slightly curved blade, was held back and low and when the navi was close enough to Enzan, he swung upwards.

Without time to think about what to do and how to save his friend from being cut in half, Netto pushed Enzan away and ended up being in the path of the attack. There wasn't much he could to, just slightly lean backwards to avoid most of the damage. Still, the pain that flared from his left thigh told him that Ninja's blade had cut deep into his flesh.

Oddly enough, however, it wasn't as stinging as the paper-like cut on his left cheek…

Losing his balance, Netto was forced to fall against the wall at his back for support as his left leg became close to useless. He could feel the blood seep out of the wound and both he and Forte realized that they hadn't much time left before they lost consciousness.

Brown eyes glared past the cracked helmet and locked onto the taller black navi. After realizing that he had ended up wounding the wrong person, Ninja had backed away and was now standing next to his comrade, looking down at the blood coating the tip of his sword. He seemed… troubled by it, but then shook his head and grabbed a bundle from behind his back that had previously escaped Netto's notice.

Discarding the black cloth, the navi uncovered the familiar sight of a shoebox sized Leech and held it in his free hand while the one holding his sword was pointed towards him. "That was not my intention," he declared, obviously referring to the gash on the boy's left thigh, before dashing forward. "Once we get you under control, I'll make sure it is treated."

Netto didn't move at first, but floated to the side once he was sure that Ninja would be unable to correct his course in time to jump at him again. "Nice of you," the boy replied, voice heavy with tiredness. "But it would be better if you just backed off and left us in peace."

Sliding to a halt before slamming against the wall, the taller black navi turned around and jumped after Netto holding both sword and Leech at the ready. "As Paladin has said more than once, we are bound to follow the orders of our creator regardless of what we think."

Narrowing his eyes and frowning at his opponent's words, Netto backed away from the energy sucking device and parried a sword attack coming from the left with his forearm. The sharp blade became embed into the thick armguard and while the boy tried to dislodge it, Ninja shoved the Leech right into his stomach.

There was a terrible moment where Netto felt like his heart had stopped beating and his sight blurred, but he had enough strength left to jump away again and take as much distance from the device as he could. He was breathing hard now, as if he had run for miles without stopping, but he outright refused to give up.

_We won't last long,_ as much as he was someone that hated to admit that someone was gaining the upper hand on him, Forte knew that they were past their limit. They either ended the battle now or they would lose.

"If you can't beat them in speed and strength…" Netto whispered as he floated higher towards the ceiling. He wasn't one for complex tactics, but now more than ever he couldn't deny the fact that he needed to come up with a good plan. "…outsmart them."

_What do you have in mind?_

"It's obvious that I can't get into a close range combat with neither of them without seriously getting hurt," Netto continued as he scanned the room for anything that could become useful. So far all he could see was furniture, and although the fire extinguisher had stopped working, the water had been enough to soak everything. "And any good and respected NetBattler knows that water amplifies electric attacks…"

Scanning the room again, Netto noticed that Enzan had resumed battling with Paladin and, although he was exhausted, the boy was meeting each blow with his own sword, maintaining the fight balanced. And while his comrade kept the taller boy busy, Ninja slowly walked around the room, sword and Leech at the ready and in search of a good opportunity to surprise him.

Not possessing any Battle Chip that would provide him with an electric attack, Netto did the only possible thing he could do. With his Life Aura coming to life, he dived at the ground where Paladin was, knowing that the white navi was too busy with Enzan to realize that he was being targeted.

The following crash shook the entire building and made some of the overhead lamps fall to the ground with a clatter, their glass and plastic parts breaking in pieces. Paladin had been fast enough to avoid a direct hit by jumping to the side, but hadn't been able to get far away enough to not get hurt by the shockwave and was now laying sprawled onto the wet ground on his back, dazed.

"That was a surprise," he muttered as he stood up and turned around to look at his opponent and the one that had been crazy enough to dive headfirst into the ground. Enzan was as surprised as he was, but he had managed to avoid getting hurt by summoning a Barrier while Netto had disappeared into a deep crater on the ground.

Then, as things seemed to calm down, a large sparkling cable flew out of the hole like an angry snake that started to fall towards the floor.

_Enzan-sama!_ Blues was beyond worried now. The Barrier his operator had summoned was too weak to sustain that kind of electric shock and any further damage would seriously hurt him, perhaps even kill him.

But before Enzan could do something, he felt something grab him from behind and hoist him up into the air just as the cable hit the floor and electricity spread all over the entry hall. The few viruses and navi that had survived Forte's blasting attack exploded into blue data dust as they took double the damage than any other element while their operators survived only because they had ran off earlier. Paladin and Ninja, not fast enough to get to safety, were electrocuted too, but because they had no elemental affiliation with water they were only damaged and weakened.

And as the palace fell into darkness because of safety measures activating and cutting the power, Enzan was left thinking while hanging from Forte's right shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He didn't know the black navi well, but he was sure that he would rather charge headfirst at the enemy and overwhelm them with power rather than resort to tactical measures.

Not to mention that he had come up with the same idea he had tried to use earlier…

Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but…

_Enzan-sama! Are you alright?_

"Yeah, I'm fine," the boy muttered as he was placed back onto the ground on his feet. He was exhausted and his muscles were trembling with the effort of keeping him standing, but he would not rest until the enemy was taken care of. "How many Battle Chips do we have left?"

There was a soft hum as Blues checked their folder. _Not good, Enzan-sama,_ he replied with a frown evident in his voice. _We're out of Battle Chips. All we have left is the default sword…_

Enzan gritted his teeth as he watched Dark Mu's two strongest navis getting up from the floor and make sure that all they had were burns. Both he and Forte were without useful Battle Chips and so weakened that it was a miracle that they were even standing. Not only that, but he could barely move his right arm and the black navi floating at his side was losing a lot of blood from the gash on his leg.

"Navis can't bleed…" he muttered, watching through the dim light of the emergency lamps as the red liquid dripped onto the wet floor. That was one of the main things that had always bothered him since seeing Forte wounded. There was no need for navis to have blood, or even mimic real working organs.

Then Paladin's words suddenly came back to mind. At first he hadn't understood them, after all, if the white navi was referring to Netto as the tree hiding in a forest, how could his friend hide so easily in a crowd when there were notices with his face hanging from every wall in the city?

Maybe it was because he was exhausted, but for a moment Enzan felt like laughing out loud at the hilarity of his realization. Netto, the hyperactive boy that would rather solve a problem 'face to face', had fooled not just him, but even his father and his navi, who where the people that knew him best.

But before he could address his battle companion about his sudden enlightenment, Forte rushed forwards and clashed swords with Ninja, who had discarded the Leech once he had realized that the electric shock had damaged the device beyond repair. For a moment the taller black navi seemed to have the upper hand on his opponent, but then he had to backtrack to avoid a kick aimed to his side.

Then, as their fight carried them outside the building, Enzan summoned the default sword on his left arm. It wasn't the same thing as fighting with his other arm, but it would have to do. "What is it that you said?" he asked as he watched Paladin walk towards him, his sword held in front of him at the ready. "A tree is best hidden in a forest?"

Paladin smiled, his sky-grey eyes twinkling in amusement. "So you finally figured it out? Took you long enough," he commented, casting a glance at his companion and his opponent battling each other with all they had. Netto wouldn't last much longer, but he was giving Ninja quite a run for his money.

"I have to admit it," Enzan replied, shifting into a battle ready position and lifting his own sword in front of him, ready to attack or defend. "He has fooled us for a good while, and I'll make sure that he pays for that. Hiding right in front of everyone while we were worrying what was happening to him and why Dark Mu wanted him so badly…"

Not exactly in the mood to fight any further, Paladin spent the next seconds musing at his opponent's words. "He's a fast learner and a quick thinker," he praised with a wistful smile. "You don't find many people like that, especially as young as he is. He doesn't deserve the fate that The Emperor has designed for him."

At those words, Enzan frowned, his eyes narrowing behind his cracked blue visor. "What do you mean?" he didn't like Paladin's words one bit and they gave him the same exact feeling that he got when something was going to go extremely wrong. "Talk, or else…"

The navi rushed forwards and clashed sword with Enzan. "As I said earlier, I am forbidden to talk about The Emperor's plans even if it cost me my life," he replied with a grunt, noticing that his opponent was displaying a strength that he wasn't supposed to have at the moment. "But I can say that you really don't want to see them carried out…"

Knowing that there was nothing else that he could wrestle out of Paladin, Enzan concentrated on the fight. Blows were exchanged for several long minutes, cuts were made on both opponents' bodies and the NetSavior started to see blurry images in a telltale sign that he would lose consciousness any minute.

Then, Enzan raised his weapon above his head to parry a downward slash and, as the two blades met each other in a loud clang, the surface of his reddish default sword cracked and then split into several pieces with the sound of shattered glass. The fragments landed onto the ground, skittering along the wet surface until, once still, they faded into blue mist and the boy's left arm was released from the confinement of the weapon.

"You are a strong fighter, just like your friend," Paladin commented, leaning onto his right leg to rest his injured one. The cut there wasn't deep, but it still crippled him. "Too bad we're enemies."

However, before a finishing blow could be delivered, the Dimensional Area dome disappeared, cancelling Enzan's Cross Fusion with his navi and forcing him onto his knees for lack of energy. His PET clattered onto the ground, making Blues protest loudly and call his operator's name in worry, and the Synchro Chip was expelled onto the wet ground with another, softer, clatter.

For a moment, as he stared up at the raised blade of the white navi, the boy thought that he would not survive to see another day. That is, until something blasted Paladin away from him and against the wall with a loud bang.

At first Enzan thought that it had been Forte, or better, Netto, that had saved his life, but as he turned his blurry gaze towards the destroyed entrance of NetPolice's headquarters, he saw a blue figure holding his right arm up with what appeared to be a Cannon pointed in the direction of the white navi.

"Ro… Rockman?" he asked with a faint voice. Now that he was out of Cross Fusion, unconsciousness was quickly claiming his senses. "How did you…?"

He was answered as a tall figure wearing a white coat rushed at his side and kneeled down to support his weakened body. "Enzan," Yuichiro called, worry evident in his voice. "Enzan are you alright?"

The boy nodded his head, eyes blinking heavily with sleep. "Yes, but… Forte," he murmured as he tried to force his body to respond and stand back up. All he could do, however, was twitch helplessly into the man's arms. "Netto…"

While Rockman kept Paladin busy with his default buster, Yuichiro's eyes hardened with resolve. "What happened to them?" he asked with urgency. He didn't want to force Enzan to use the last of his strength to talk, but he really needed to know where his son and Forte were.

Enzan reached his PET with his left hand and tried to stand up again, but was stopped by Netto's father, who kept him down with a hand. "Ninja…" he eventually said, stopping in his efforts to stand up. "He… they are fighting against him…"

Yuichiro frowned as he watched the young boy finally losing his battle with unconsciousness, then grabbed his red PET and looked down at Blues. The navi was tired, but he wasn't out of commission yet. "I can't take care of Enzan right now," he said as he laid the boy down onto the ground and fished into his pocket with his other hand. "I need to help Rockman and find my son…"

Taking his hand out of his pocket, he held up a Materializer to for the red navi to see. "I need you to take him to safety, perhaps it will be best if you take him to a hospital."

Blues nodded in understanding just before his PET was pointed at the sophisticated device, and as the man pressed the right button, he felt himself being transferred. At first it felt just like moving from the PET to the net, but when his entire core program had finished moving, things became different.

It was like materializing in the real world within a Dimensional Area, mainly because he _was_ using a miniature one, but everything appeared… slightly different. Sounds were clear and without an electronic echo in the background, colors were normal instead of being converted into a psychedelic rainbow, but mostly of all, the difference laid in his sense of touch.

He wasn't going to delve into it, there was no time for that, but he knew that it was different. The cold air of night, the wet ground under his feet, and what was that thing that his nose was picking up?

Ignoring those sensations in favor of leaning down to pick his operator in his arms, Blues glanced at Yuichiro as soon as he was standing up again. "Than you, Doctor," he said, surprised at how clear his voice sounded. "I'll be off now."

The man nodded and placed the red PET into a pocket of the boy's pants as the navi couldn't exactly carry it with his hands full. There the device would stay safe until it was removed. With a muted nod of his head, Blues was ready to turn around to leave when something flew past him and crashed against Paladin, sending both against the wall.

When the dust cleared, everyone discovered that the hurled object had been none other than Ninja and a heavy looking manhole lid. The two remained on the ground in a heap for a few seconds, then the black navi heaved the unusual projectile off his chest and stood up, patting his dirty clothes to get rid of the excessive dust.

"He left," he simply stated, not really bothered by having lost an occasion to accomplish Dark Mu's mission of capturing the Black Fury. "We have nothing more to do here. We might as well leave."

Paladin stood up, and cast his eyes out of the entrance. "He caught you by surprise, didn't he?" he asked, noticing the state in which the street laid. The asphalt was filled with holes and pieces of it were scattered everywhere, trees and streetlamps were laying on the floor and he was sure he could see a bench stuck vertically into the ground. Probably the end result of Netto using it as an improvised weapon against Ninja.

That kid was truly full of tricks.

As the two navis left in a blue shower of data, Yuichiro felt his blood run cold as he saw no boy clad in black standing outside. He abruptly stood up and rushed outside, scanning the destroyed street as best as the only standing streetlamp let him. "N… Netto!"

His call, however, received no reply and that left the man distraught. Not only he hadn't noticed that his son had been right under his nose for days, but now he had arrived too late to help him. It was obvious that Dark Mu hadn't captured him, but Netto had left and, although he wanted to deny it, he knew that he would not go back to SciLabs until things had calmed down and it was safe for him and Forte to come out of hiding.

At the sound of two voices calling 'dad' and 'doctor' above the sound of the hissing rain and the muffled alarm coming from the insides of a nearby building, Yuichiro turned around to face the two navis as they rushed out. Blues was still carrying his unconscious operator in his arms while Rockman had a deeply concerned expression.

"Dad!" the blue navi called again as he came to a stop in front of his creator. "It's Netto… he's…"

Seeing that he was unable to finish talking, Blues stepped forwards and looked around, spotting small clusters of blue mist faring away. They were everywhere, but some of them were forming a line that led to a manhole. "He's wounded," he paused and watched as Yuichiro's face paled even more. "But I suggest informing only who we can really trust. I wouldn't be surprised if Dark Mu has spies within SciLabs or the NetPolice."

He knew that the red navi was right in that, that there was no time to worry and that they had to act quickly, but it really took a lot of effort and control for Yuichiro to not collapse on his knees where he was and blame himself for how bad of a father he was.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: **Here is another chapter! Thanks to Mistrevar for all the help and the betaing. Yes, in canon it may be longer than ten years (eleven or twelve, or more), but in this fic, it's about ten years since the **Alpha Incident**. That makes Netto and Forte roughly the same age, with Forte being a few months older. Just random trivia I'll let you know.

**Also!**

Unwilling Partners got **more fanart!** Check out my profile for the links (FFnet) and the archive (DA. The link is in the comment at the bottom) and praise these artists for their kindness!

And now, onto the next chapter, which is slow, but will **reveal **things. Happy reading!

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He wasn't sure what drove him to the conclusion that Netto and Forte were hiding in the clock tower, but when he had seen the old building from his hospital room, the hunch that he had gotten that instant felt right. And now that he was standing in front of the small service entrance, that certainty became stronger.

The old wooden door, dulled with age and weather, was slightly ajar with the iron lock that usually kept it closed hanging broken from the handle. If the situation had been different, maybe he would have thought it to be the doing of a vandal, but after the recent attacks and troubles with materialized viruses, he highly doubted that even the common criminal would be stupid enough to go out just to break into an old clock tower.

Enzan stepped forward and opened the door with his left hand, almost cringing at the loud creak that seemed to boom into the abnormally silent city. For a moment he didn't move, looking around to see if someone had noticed him, then, as he saw no one but Blues, he stepped inside.

The room that greeted him was empty, with only a couple of crates sitting against the far wall, and covered in a thick layer of dust. There were no windows, and the only sources of light came from the open door at his back and from the top of the tower. It was clear that no one had used the place in years, not even maintenance service seemed to be needed for the old clock, but when his blue eyes turned to the ground, Enzan paused.

No one had been there until very recently.

The dust on the ground presented a single line of footsteps, unclear and staggering, as if the owner was struggling in his walk and couldn't use his left leg. Through the dim light of the sun that managed to filter inside through the door, Enzan followed the track's lead and came face to face with a wooden staircase nestled against the walls. From there, it was too dark to see the details of the trail, but the boy didn't care. All he needed was the knowledge that Netto was upstairs.

"Blues," Enzan turned around to face his navi, who had been following him around using the Materializer that doctor Hikari had given him. He still had to get used to the new feelings, Enzan had seen him touch the wall repeatedly to feel its details when he had woken up after two days of sleep, but the navi was ready for any order coming from his operator.

The two's gaze met briefly and there was no need for further explanation as they started to climb the stairs. Enzan, still not fully recovered from his exhaustion, was slower than usual and by the time they reached the top, he was panting slightly as he observed the hatch door above him.

It was open and the light filtering from above illuminated the almost vertical steps leading to the top floor, showing that the dust there was heavily disturbed by the passage of someone. For a moment Enzan stared at it, transfixed and wondering how much Netto had struggled to get up there, then, not wanting to waste any more precious minutes, the boy shook his head and climbed the last steps in haste.

The room he found himself in was as empty and dusty as the rest of the old building, with the only difference that the sun was filtering through the transparent white glass of the clock. Large bronze gears, nestled near the wall, were spinning slowly and at each shift their tick tock broke the eerie silence rhythmically with their low and deep tone.

It would have been a normal sight if it wasn't for the black shape laying in front of the clock, unmoving and unaware of the new presences within the room. He was on his right side, facing away from the light, and his body was covered with dirt and dust, meaning that he hadn't cleaned after walking in the sewers and had been resting in that position for days.

As he saw him, Enzan felt time stop for a single moment and his heart race with worry. Even if he was not going to admit it out loud to anyone, Netto was his friend - probably his best one- and seeing him like that troubled him. Then the stillness was broken as he rushed to the unconscious boy and kneeled in front of him, Blues doing the same, but on his other side.

When Enzan placed a hand onto his friend's shoulder, he relaxed a bit. He could feel Netto breathing, although it was slow and shallow to indicate that the boy was deep into unconsciousness. His blue eyes then turned towards the wounded leg and he frowned upon seeing the ragged cloak enveloping it.

Netto had done all he could to treat it, but not being an expert and probably being too tired to put real effort on it, his 'bandage' presented holes where the gash could be seen. The boy had tried to keep it sealed with the use of paper tape, as there was no needle and thread in the first aid kit laying near him, and blood had dried, creating a cloth that had stopped the loss of blood.

But that wasn't what worried him the most. The flesh and black skin-like tissue around the wound was turning a sickly color in a clear sign of an infection taking place. Enzan had to turn away in disgust at the sight and looked at Netto's pale face, noticing that, although it was still his face, the purple streaks on its sides and the shapes of his eyes were what really made everyone believe that it was Forte, and not Netto, who was standing in front of them.

"We have to take him back to SciLabs," Enzan eventually murmured, almost as if he didn't want to disturb his friend. His eyes looked up at Blues, and the navi had no need for further explanation to carefully pick up the unconscious boy, careful to not hurt him further with wrong movements.

As they stood up and quickly made their way through the hatch door and down the stairs, Enzan started to wonder if SciLabs was the best place to take his friend. He knew that Netto's father and the others would protect him, but there were always those who would try to harm him anyway, and Dark Mu surely had agents hidden inside to keep tabs on all their movements. Netto wasn't a paranoid kid, but if he had not trusted the place as a whole when he sent his first message, maybe there was a good reason.

That thought brought Enzan to a sudden stop as he came to the realization that there weren't many people they could currently trust, or places really safe from their enemy's reach. That was the main reason why Netto had come here instead of returning to SciLabs.

"We can't take him back to SciLabs," he spoke out loud, stopping Blues a few steps further down than he was and making him turn around slightly to regard his operator with confusion. "There might still be people that could try to eliminate Forte, and it's too far away from here. Dark Mu might attack us even in broad daylight."

And IPC was even less safe than SciLabs. There were just too many people working in the building, and for all he knew, Dark Mu might already have some spies within his company already.

His eyes then looked at the comatose boy Blues was holding and he had a sudden idea. Yaito Ayanokouji was one of Netto's close friends and she would never turn her back to him. And after seeing that trespasser laying on the infirmary bed within her mansion, Enzan knew that she would have a doctor at hand and a good security system to protect them.

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Yaito Ayanokouji was a girl that didn't waste time when there was something to be done. That was why, after being rescued from the underwater base by Enzan and that mysterious black navi, she had Meiru and Dekao come every day and browse the net in search of anything that could help them find their missing friend.

It was during one of these meetings that the bell of the front gate started to ring insistently, annoying the trio until the security camera caught sight of Enzan, Blues and an unmoving familiar dark shape in the navi's arms. The boy's expression and body stance was unnaturally tense when he started to talk with a butler, going so far as to show him his badge of NetSavior to gain quick access to the mansion.

The trio looked at each other with confusion for a second before curiosity took over and they stood up from the couch they had been sitting on while they let their navis browse the net from the tree house's super computer.

Logging off their navis and loading them into the Materializers that they had kept from their latest adventure was a quick task. Reaching the mansion where Enzan, Blues and the black navi were, however, took them longer than they wished for.

The ruckus they made when they entered into the room where the NetSavior had been accompanied surprised both him and his navi, making them almost jump into a fighting stance, and eye them with suspicion before realizing who they were.

The first thing that Yaito did was to take a few steps towards the two and glare at Enzan with her arms crossed, while her navi and the others remained behind her to watch the scene unfold. "What is happening here?"

The white haired boy looked at her in the eyes, then cast a quick glance at Meiru, Dekao and the three navis before turning his eyes onto the young girl in front of him. "No time to explain," he declared calmly despite the tension lingering in the room. "He needs help. Now."

As Enzan turned his head to look at the unconscious navi that Blues was holding, Yaito followed his gaze and quickly forgot what she was going to say. The black navi, the same that she and her friends had seen in SciLabs and in the underwater base of Dark Mu, had his leg badly wrapped with his cloak, which was dirty with dust and blood.

She had to take her eyes away from that and turned to look at her navi standing right behind her, her left hand rubbing her upper right arm for comfort. One of the few things that made her queasy was seeing a large amount of blood. "Glyde, can… can you take care of this?"

Sensing her distress, Glyde stepped to the side and motioned for Blues to follow him through the door. "Yes, Yaito-sama," he wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to take care of a navi that was losing blood, but he supposed that a human doctor would be a good start.

Enzan nodded, signaling Blues to go on without him, then turned his attention back to Yaito and the others. There was the soft click of the door closing when Blues and Glyde left, but other than that, the silence filling the room was heavy and long.

That is, until he sighed and turned around to look out of the window, idly wondering if he should really tell them everything. Still, Yaito had offered her help without demanding an explanation before accepting, and as Netto's closest friends, they deserved to at least know.

"This is supposed to stay secret," he started, voice calm and collected. Even if he had his back turned to them, he could feel five pair of eyes turn around and stare at him in anticipation. "The less people know, the better. I don't want to think how Forte would react with a bunch of unknown people wanting to see… him. And with kids traveling back and forth from the mansion will give Dark Mu a golden occasion to infiltrate."

"Enzan," it was Meiru that spoke. Yaito was still trying to recover from seeing so much blood and all she was doing right now was staring at the back of the boy in front of her. "We understand. We won't tell anyone."

Enzan remained silent for a while, then nodded and turned around to look at the others in the eyes. "The… black navi we carried here," he started, motioning the door with his head. "That's Netto."

At first there was silence, the three kids and two navis too confused and shocked to say something, then emotions exploded. Dekao screamed his unbelief with a loud "No way!", Meiru brought her hand to the mouth to stifle a gasp and Yaito just stared at the NetSavior like he had grown a second head.

"I… I knew there was something… familiar about him," Meiru started, her voice muffled by her hand. She was feeling terrible at the moment. Netto was her best friend, but besides a vague feeling of familiarity, she had been unable to recognize him. "But I would have never guessed…"

Enzan could understand her feeling. Netto had apparently changed enough that he had fooled everyone into thinking that he was Forte. As Yuichiro had informed him after he woke up, it was only by chance that Cossack saw Netto's face and recognized it on a photo doctor Hikari kept in his office. And it had been only thanks to Paladin's words that he had discovered the truth himself.

"Netto is the black navi?" the large boy was still having troubles believing what he had just heard. He had seen the navi only two times, and in both, he had felt the oppressive powers coming from him in waves. "You're kidding, right?"

Who replied to that question wasn't Enzan, but Yaito, who had started to recover from her shock of seeing that much blood. "It's obvious that he's _not_ kidding, Dekao," she said before taking a deep breath and straightening her dress in an effort to calm down her nerves. "But I believe that is not the point right now."

Her eyes looked into Enzan's and she nodded, finally understanding the real reason why he had come to her. Hunted by Dark Mu night and day, Netto needed a place to rest where the security was high and people were few. IPC's main building, SciLabs and even the NetPolice headquarters offered the first, but not the second.

"What I'd like to know, however," she resumed speaking, feeling more confident as time passed despite still having the memory of Netto laying limp into Blues's arms clear in her mind with a large wound on his left leg. "Is why you didn't tell us sooner. From what I've heard from the rumors in the net, Netto came back to SciLabs some time ago…"

Enzan's eyes became thoughtful for several seconds, then he hummed gently. "No one knew it was him until a few days ago," he replied. Forte would never trust a human with his problems, especially if it concerned his life, and Netto, being Netto, would never force someone to do something they didn't want to. "By the time we realized, he had fled the battlefield."

Dekao frowned deeply, confused and shocked. "Why would Netto keep his comeback secret? Doesn't he need help?"

Blue eyes narrowed and Enzan almost growled at the large boy's questioning. The main reason why he didn't really want to tell them the truth was that it brought many questions that he had to answer. "Forte doesn't like humans," he replied quickly as he started to walk towards the door. He had to find Blues, know how Netto was doing and then warn doctor Hikari without alerting Dark Mu. "I don't know how he did it, but Netto has found a peaceful coexistence with him."

As he left the room, silently followed by three kids and two navis, Enzan decided that he should have doctor Cossack come too. Being Forte's creator, he would be able to help in figuring out how the two were cross fused without a Dimensional Area.

Three days of almost incessant searching for his son had nearly brought Yuichiro to his knees. Despite being sleep deprived and running on several mugs of coffee alone, however, the man was still bustling back and forth within the main lab of SciLabs. Rarely would he stop and lay down for a few hours of rest.

Not even Cossack, who was doing his best to catch up with the technology within the room and logically figure out where his son and the boy he was stuck with had gone, was having much success in persuading the younger man take a long and deserved sleep.

While the two parents were trying to locate their kids' whereabouts from the lab, Meijin had taken his car and was checking out several places that could provide a good shelter for Netto and Forte. He had checked the warehouse district, the park, several disused buildings and a few other places that he had forgotten even existed.

But no matter how much the three wanted to find the missing boy and navi, their efforts were so far fruitless. The two were nowhere to be found.

"Enzan is out of the hospital," Meijin informed the two men sitting at Yuichiro's desk with what looked like the third cup of coffee in front of them. Netto's father had heavy bags under his eyes, dropping shoulders and his slightly arched back screamed how much the man needed to sleep. "He said he was going to check a place before coming back, but he didn't say where."

Yuichiro nodded, one hand moving the cup to the side so he could glance down at the unfolded map on the desk. There were a lot of blue circles, red crosses and brown mug prints on it, indicating that it had been used a lot recently. "How is he doing?"

Meijin took a seat next to Cossack and sighed, lifting his glasses with his right hand to rub the bridge of his nose. He was tired and a good half of his mind was wondering how the two men in his company could persist without decent sleep for so long. "Doctors said that his right arm was almost broken, but besides that and a case of exhaustion and sore muscles, they decided to let him go without too much of a fuss. And he has Blues with him, so I'm not too worried."

There was silence for a few seconds, until the young man opened his bag and took out an old and dirty folder. "He did ask me to pick this up from the front desk of NetPolice's headquarters, though," he commented as he placed the bundle of files on top of the map. "He said I shouldn't show this to anyone but you two at the moment. I haven't read it yet, but I have a good hunch on what it might be."

His eyes glanced at the man sitting next to him through the lenses of his glasses and saw him look down at his hands folded on the desk. There was an aura of sadness coming from him, but at the same time there was a spark of hope in his eyes. Hope that the navi he had created could finally see the truth, accept it and find peace.

"Like father, like son," Cossack smiled at his words, unable to stop the bubble of happiness that was growing each second he thought that maybe, just maybe, Forte had read those files. Enzan hadn't said anything about that, but Netto had been there that night for a reason. "Your son is a good boy, Yuichiro."

Yuichiro looked at the older man with confusion for a couple of seconds, then his tired brain caught on and he smiled. Leave it to Netto to find a way to make everything right. "You have to thank my wife," he replied with a faint chuckle. "She is the one that grew him up."

In one of their brief moments of lack of worry, the trio laughed heartily. "Yes, but he does have your hero complex," Cossack's rebuttal was quick, and Netto's father scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think that is a genetic trait you and your son have in common. Might do Forte a lot of good."

"If the two have been stuck in a Cross Fusion since Netto has gone missing, I think that almost three months of peaceful coexistence is a good result," Meijin was going to say something else regarding the unknown kind of permanent Cross Fusion when the doors of the lab opened with a faint swish.

The trio sobered as they watched Rockman walked towards them, trying to act calm and avoid rushing. He was not doing a good job, and when he finally reached the desk, he looked at his creator with eyes brimming with joy and fear. "We have to go," he whispered, only loud enough for the three men to hear him. "Now."

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* * *

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The drive from SciLabs to the Ayanokouji's mansion, with only a quick stop to the Hikari's house to get Netto's mother, lasted roughly half a hour mainly because Meijin had to refrain from going above the speed limit and burning a few red lights. But if the young man at the wheel was impatient, his four passengers were beyond nervous.

Cossack, sitting on the passenger seat next to him, was as calm as ever and was looking out of the window with pensive eyes at the scrolling city. Haruka and Yuichiro, sitting at the back were as silent as the older man and holding each other's hands, glad that their son had been found, but at the same time worried about his conditions.

Rockman, sitting at Haruka's right, was feeling so guilty that he hadn't spoken at all since getting in the car. He was supposed to protect his operator, and know him as well as twin brothers would know each other, so why had it been Enzan to be the first to find Netto? He had nothing against him, or better, he was glad and thankful that he had found his operator, but what kind of navi was he that he was unable to think like Netto would do and figure out where he had hidden?

As he and the other three passengers kept thinking to themselves, Meijin drove past the open gates of the Ayanokouji's park-like garden and stopped right in front of the mansion's entrance. For a moment no one dared to move, but when Glyde opened the door to let Cossack out, everyone woke from their stupor and hurried out of the vehicle.

"Welcome to the Ayanokouji's manor," the navi said politely with a bow. "I wish the circumstances were different, however. If you would like to follow me, I'll take you to Netto."

As no one wanted to waste time with idle chat, they quickly started walking through the mansion's corridors. Glyde led the group, walking at a slightly quick and even pace, Meijin taking the rear of the group with Doctor Cossack next to him and Yuichiro and Haruka taking the middle. The man was helping his wife walk, whispering gentle words to her and reassuring her that their son would be fine.

They didn't have to walk for long to reach a room where Glyde invited them to sit down on the comfortable couches while he went to get Enzan. When he walked out of the room, the group was left in total silence for several minutes before the aforementioned boy walked inside and regarded them all with calm eyes.

"I found him in the clock tower. Unconscious, but alive," he said when he saw five pair of questioning eyes looking right at him. No one ever spoke a word, but their eyes easily told him that they were expecting him to tell them everything he knew. "I haven't seen the wound in detail, but it looked bad and infected. Netto is currently under the care of doctors employed by the Ayanokouji's family, and they will be able to tell us more when they are done treating him."

After those words faded into silence and everyone fully understood the situation, a weak sob filled the air as Haruka hunched over and started to cry. Her hands flew to her face as she tried to hide her emotions from view, almost as if she was ashamed to show how scared and desperate she was after enduring three months of not knowing where her son was.

She was enveloped into a reassuring hug by Yuichiro, who started to whisper reassuring words to her as she cried on his shoulder, unable to refrain herself anymore. The man looked up from his sobbing wife and caught sight of Cossack, sitting on an armchair near the couch.

The man was good at keeping a calm exterior, but Yuichiro knew that he was being as scared and worried as everyone else deep down. After ten long years of being separated from his son and the first chance he got to meet him again, Forte was on the brink of death. But his eyes had a confident shine to them. A shine that gave him hope.

"Haruka," Yuichiro's voice was soft, but the woman in his hands looked up at him, one hand wiping her tears away from her eyes. "Netto will be fine. He's not alone in there. Forte is with him."

The woman nodded, but returned laying her head against her husband. Thanks to Yuichiro's words, she had stopped crying and was now just cuddling with him, hoping and waiting to receive good news.

After giving a silent nod of approval to Yuichiro, Enzan walked up to Meijin, who was sitting on a chair near the wall, and greeted him with another nod. "Have you found what I asked?"

The young man grabbed his shoulder belt bag and laid it on his lap, patting it. "It's in here," he said with a small smile, knowing exactly what Enzan wanted to do with it. He didn't know the whole story, just small pieces here and there, but that was enough to make him guess that the boy was going to use the file to bring justice where it was expected. "We didn't have time to read it, or to make a copy of it, though."

Enzan nodded and waited as Meijin opened his bag and took the old folder out to hand it to the boy. "I'm sure Netto knew the risks when he went out to look for this," he said softly, grabbing the bundle and observing it with sharp blue eyes. "He doesn't like injustice."

He had only been able to see some parts of the files contained in the folder while Netto and Forte quickly read them, but they had been enough to make him decide that he would not let go unpunished who had framed two innocent people.

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* * *

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Waiting for almost five hours now seemed nothing in comparison to seeing his son laying on a bed, unconscious and face pale. But Yuichiro felt the need to be strong for everyone else, especially his wife, who was now sitting next to the bed and was holding one of Netto's hands in hers, stroking it reassuringly, not minding at all the fact that her son was looking so different than usual.

The doctors had said that the cut had been deep, almost reached the bone, but hadn't cut any main vein and they were sure that the coma the boy was in had helped in limiting the blood loss until the wound clotted as best as it could because of a slowed heartbeat rate. True to their professions and the contract with the Ayanokouji's family, the medical team hadn't asked how or why a young kid was dressed as a navi and had a large cut on his leg, but they had been baffled as blue mist had started to appear as soon as they had unwrapped the old bandage and blood had started to pour out again, eventually turning into blue mist itself as soon as it landed on the bed.

The medics had cleaned and stitched the gash up, dressing it with clean bandages and letting Netto rest on his right side so he would be able to breath better. Forte's helmet, as much as intimidating as it was, it was in the way of a good rest if Netto laid on his back.

Administering to him some antibiotics for the infection, however, had been troublesome as they were unable to take off the suit to locate a vein, as if it was an integral part of his body. In the end they had to inject a dose under the two layer of skins, one fake and one real, and hope that the body would absorb it correctly and fast enough to stop and make the infection recede.

Placing a hand onto his son's left arm, Yuichiro narrowed his eyes in determination despite being tired and sleep deprived. Netto had been treated well, but the doctors had stated that they were unable to do more than what they had already done. They had tried to administer vitamins and liquids to the boy with an IV setup, but after a couple of hours of suturing, they had noticed that it brought no apparent benefit. Almost as if it wasn't enough.

They had no answer to that, but maybe he had one…

He could remember the blood fading into data, Netto's ability to stay awake and not eat for more than a couple of days without feeling tired or hungry and he could remember his lethargic movements and weakened appearance when he pushed himself too far. And how he had recovered some when he had eaten food.

This was no normal Cross Fusion, and not just because it seemed to be permanent and was active outside a Dimensional Area. "A symbiotic relationship…" the idea was farfetched, but it made sense in his tired mind. Even if he didn't know why.

And if that was right, Netto would be unable to get better until Forte was treated too.

"Haruka," he spoke softly as he placed his hands on her shoulders and made the woman turn around to look at him. She looked tired and had red eyes and dark bags under them, but there was a strong glimmer of hope in them which gave the man a rush of energy that he thought he didn't had. "Netto is fine now, why don't you take a rest?"

The woman turned her head to look at her son for a few seconds before nodding. Netto had grown a lot recently, had become mature despite his young age, and had saved the world a few times with the help of his friends. She was sure that he would be back up and asking for curry sooner than anyone expected.

"Alright," she said, smiling at her husband as she stood up and placed one hand on Netto's exposed left arm. He was warm and there was a sense of strength coming from him that made her believe in him and the unknown navi he was tied to even more than she had done after hearing the story from Yuichiro. "I'll take a rest. But you should do the same."

The man blushed at her sweet smile, and found himself looking down at the ground in embarrassment. He had been so busy looking for their son that he hadn't taken good care of himself. "Alright, you win," he commented as he accompanied his wife to the door and opened it for her.

Outside, everyone huddled around the two and started to talk together, asking how their friend was doing, if he was awake and if there was something they could do. "Netto is alright at the moment," Yuichiro replied as soon as the chattering died down. His brown eyes then looked at Glyde, standing beside the small frame of Yaito, and nodded his head in a silent greeting. "Could you please lend a room to my wife?"

The navi bowed politely and stepped to the side, in a clear sign that he wanted Haruka to follow him. "Of course," he replied with a smile and a glance of approval from his operator. "Please, follow me, Mrs. Hikari."

Yuichiro watched the two walk away, then turned to face Cossack, his smile fading to be replaced by a serious expression. An expression that the older man recognized instantly and replied to with a firm nod. There was work to be done, and two boys in need of their help.

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* * *

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Two days later and all Yuichiro could do was sit at the table to stare out of the window while he stirred his coffee. In front of him, scattered on the table without a real order, several sheet of paper with equations, graphs and coding that was making even him have a headache.

Cossack truly knew what he was doing even after ten years of not practicing his art in navi coding.

He gave a gentle sigh and turned tired eyes towards the bed in the corner. After he and his colleague had established for sure that Netto and Forte had a symbiotic relationship and that the human boy was alive only thanks to the navi's power, they had moved them to the tree house where they could work faster thanks to the super computer housed in it.

"It feels like ten years ago," he mused, his brown eyes glancing at the man sitting on the other side of the table. Cossack was examining a complex code he had written down on a piece of paper and was tapping the pen on the wooden surface in a slow rhythm. It was a habit that helped the man to concentrate. "No matter how much I work to get better, I'll never be as good as you are."

Cossack looked up at Yuichiro and smiled. "That is not true," he replied, momentarily forgetting what he was doing to give the younger man his full attention. "I may be good at creating navis, but you came up with the Cross Fusion and the Synchro Chip. I'd be lost without your help."

He motioned the scattered papers on the table with a hand and sighed deeply. "I would have never gotten this far without your help. Nor I would have ever thought about a symbiosis," he shifted papers and tapped one in particular. "From the scans we did, Netto is providing a 'base' for Forte to exist in the real world, while Forte is creating a Dimensional Area to actually appear in."

Then there was the fact that in normal Cross Fusions, the navi data simply enveloped the operator, lending him its strength and abilities. What Netto and Forte were sharing was a true fusion of human flesh and data, and that was the reason why the boy's blood faded away as soon as it left the confinement of the Dimensional Area around them. At the moment, they had no idea where the human ended and where the navi started.

The scan had also picked up a metallic alloy that at the moment they couldn't analyze, but was not be something that was used in objects of the every day life. It was present a bit everywhere on Netto's body, but it was within Forte's navi emblem that there was a large concentration of it. It presented a lot of elements contained in the same metal used for the Synchro Chip, but the rest was unknown to modern science.

Since finding about that unknown metal alloy, Meijin had done all in his powers to find what it was. His search had brought him everywhere in the net and last they had heard from him, he was checking a museum and some really old relics in the nearby city.

"Why would Dark Mu want to do this to Netto and Forte?" Yuichiro suddenly asked, his eyes returning onto the still black form on the bed. "And how they did it, anyway? Synchronization is an essential part in Cross Fusion… how could they force one on two people that had no synchronization?"

That was a part that he could not understand. Maybe it was because of the "Code" that Dark Mu wanted back so badly, maybe the unknown metal, or maybe both, but without a further analysis and a good look at Forte's core program he was unable to determine what did what. He wasn't sure how the navi would react to their invasion of his privacy, or to the presence of his creator, but he could not figure another way to help the two out of their problem.

His train of thoughts was broken when the door of the large tree house opened with a soft creak. "What if it wasn't supposed to be this way?" Enzan asked as he walked towards the table and the two men. Blues and Rockman were right behind him, and the three had heard Yuichiro's question as they returned from their latest patrol around the large mansion. "What if someone else was supposed to fuse with Forte?"

"Dark Mu's Emperor," Yuichiro spoke for everyone. They knew nothing about him and what he did after he ran away from the authorities, but it was clear that he had an obsession with getting Netto and Forte back. "He was the one supposed to get in a permanent Cross Fusion with Forte."

Enzan nodded as he sat at the table and gave a quick glance to his friend on the bed. "NetPolice's headquarters had sent him to check out why there was a leaking of electric current in a disused part of the warehouse district. I think that's when he got in the way of their plan and ended up being the one cross fused with Forte."

While Blues remained close to the door to act as a guard, Rockman walked to the bed and sat next to it, his back against the wall. "I can't remember," he started, drawing the attention of everyone to him. His eyes were not moving away from his operator, hoping to catch a glimpse of him moving. "I've been trying to remember all this time, but nothing comes back to mind. I remember getting to the warehouse district with Netto-kun, but from there on, memories are sketchy, until I come to a blank."

The next thing he could remember after that black out was regaining consciousness in SciLabs, with Yuichiro and Meijin looking at him through a screen with a relieved smile on their faces. They had told him that he had been found laying under a shelf, the PET's circuitry half melted and with Netto nowhere to be found. Whatever had happened, the power surge that had hit him had been powerful enough to damage the PET, and that PET had been built to withstand a lot.

"It can't be helped, Rockman," Yuichiro was looking at the blue navi with a kind smile. He would have gone to him and helped him up from the floor, but the man was feeling so tired at the moment that if he got up, he knew he would never go back to the table. Be it because he collapsed or because he decided to finally sleep. "I've checked your memory myself. They are… gone."

A pity. If Rockman could remember, everyone would have probably figured things out sooner. But Yuichiro couldn't blame him. The navi had been really lucky he hadn't died in whatever it was that had happened during that fateful mission.

The silence that fell into the room after that was deafening, but no one tried to break it, too deep into their own thoughts. Then there was the distant sound of screeching tires and everyone looked up at the window that faced the direction of the mansion and main gate. And idly noticed that the day was already turning into evening.

A few minutes later, Meijin walked through the door, holding a box in his left hand and closing the door behind him with his right one. "It wasn't easy to get it out of the museum," he said as he walked to the table and set the wooden container on the table. He was careful on opening it and taking the small object out. "But I think it might help us find some answers."

Enzan walked closer and cast a quick glance at Rockman. Despite not moving from his spot next to the bed, the navi was paying full attention to what was going on at the table. "A bowl?" he asked, eyeing the tool with narrowed eyes.

The bowl was made of a dark colored metal and it had a simple design save for the strange symbols carved on the outside. "It's made of the same metal alloy we found in Netto," Meijin explained. It had taken him almost two days to track down the item from the net and then convince the director of the museum to lend it to him. "And many experts believe that it originates from Mu."


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Rockman and related stuff, but I do own my original characters (Paladin, Ninja and Dark Mu's emperor)

**More fanart! Check out my profile for it and give the artists some deserved love!**

**A/N:** with 15 pages and over 8.500 words, this is the **longest** chapter I've ever written and posted. Took me this long because I feel that this is an important chapter for a certain someone's emotional development. You also get to know details, but at the same time some questions might be pop up as you read.

This chapter is somewhat slow with the action, but at the end you'll know why.

**Fun fact:** Osamu Michiro. He is the leader of Dark Mu, and when I named him I threw the name, not caring if it even existed. Only recently I get to know that Osamu not only exist, but it also mean "chronicler", "disciplined", "logical", "obtainer", "to reign", "ruler". Now, I'm not entirely sure about the "chronicler" one, but let me tell you, the guy's personality fits the rest of the meanings quite well. What a scary coincidence!

**Thanks to** Mistrevar (DA) / Zephyra Cobalt (ffnet) for all the plunging she did to get me out of the various blocks I got into while writing this chapter.

And **thanks to** all of my readers, who have supported me so far with your reviews, drawings and/or just by reading, faving and watching my work. Your encouragement is appreciated and it is a nice ego boost for me and my writing skills.

**Odd fact:** I nearly cried while writing a piece of this chapter. I do hope that the same piece will have a similar effect on most of you. I really tried my best on that.

Anyway, I'm done. Happy reading, everyone!

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* * *

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The first thing that Forte noticed when he regained consciousness was the fact that he felt different, somewhat heavier. He was laying on his right side, half curled up and onto something really soft and comfortably warm, with his cloak enveloping him.

He tried to move, to open his eyes, but his body just didn't want to respond to his commands, rendering him powerless and blind. He could hear, though. There was the soft humming of a computer, the rhythmic ticking of a clock and the incessant scraping of a pen -or pencil- on paper.

He felt safe, but somehow, he knew that there was something wrong with the situation he was in. He was not sure what it was, his memories were hazy and distant, but he had the feeling that he was missing an important detail. Something that had been there for a long time, lingering at the back of his mind…

Forte concentrated and searched for that something. It was still there, he knew it, and when he found its feeble trace, he mentally grasped for it. He could not speak, or even smile in victory, so all he could do was feel pleased.

_Forte..?_

And then reality crashed onto him like a crumbling brick wall.

Memories returned, and with them the agonizing pain of the gash on the leg. It was strange, though, because he had never felt the pain so clearly before. Not even when his host was dragging his way through the sewers and up the tower's stairs. And that had been an awful experience.

_Forte…_ Netto sounded slightly panicked, but mostly so tired that it was a wonder that he was even awake enough to speak coherently. _I… I can't move… what's happening?_

He would reply, really. He had no interest in making the kid more scared that what he already was, especially after going so far as to risk his life just to know the truth. But he simply couldn't. He could think though, but the boy didn't seem to be able to read his thoughts.

Forte couldn't deny that there was a big problem with them. Not only Netto couldn't move, but he couldn't even recall the simplest of programs that had been forcefully installed in him. And without a generic scan of their shared body and of his core program, there was no way he could find a way to solve whatever was happening to them.

_It… it doesn't seem like we're in the hands of Dark Mu…_ the boy supplied, trying to calm down his nerves. _They wouldn't… let us lay down like this, right?_

The kid was right. There was no way that their enemy would let them rest on something so comfortable, whatever it was. They would keep them restrained with the Leeches, under heavy sedatives and as far away from any escape route as possible.

_I can talk to you as if we were logged into a server,_ as he better analyzed their situation, Netto felt a bit calmer. _But it doesn't seem like we are in one… I… I'm feeling like I have no body… completely different from last time…_

There was a long pause of silence as both fell into their own thoughts. That is, until the pen stopped scraping and someone stood up from a wooden chair to stretch. The soft groan that filled the room had a deep tone to it, revealing that the person that had uttered it was male.

_Whoever he is,_ Netto started as he tried to follow the man as he walked towards them. His steps were careful on the wooden floor, as if he didn't want to disturb, but at the same time they were dragging a little. _He's tired._

Then the man was in front of them, his clothes swishing gently as he crouched down and placed a large, warm hand onto their upper left arm. Netto could only barely feel it, as if the sensation was mirrored to him from far away, but Forte felt it so clearly that he was amazed. The feeling of pressure and warmth was nothing like he had ever felt before with his normal frame. As if…

_You know,_ Netto's voice was soft as he came to his same realization. _I think you are in control._

If he could, Forte would have stared at his companion as if he had said the stupidest thing in the world, but despite the shock and the confusion, their thoughts were right. He was in control. The feelings were too clear, unlike when he felt them from the back of the boy's mind, to indicate otherwise.

But as much shocking that was, nothing could be compared to the feelings that overwhelmed Forte when the man cleared his throat and sighed.

"Will you ever be able to forgive me, Forte?" Cossack's voice was full of pain, shame and regret, and sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "For all the wrongs I did to you?"

Forte's thoughts froze and he felt the Netto's human heart quicken its pace as it responded to his distress. Muscles tensed and trembled under the man's touch, but they were too faint to be felt, so his creator never noticed that both he and the boy were conscious.

Cossack remained in silence for several long seconds, probably contemplating what to say to what he believed was an unconscious person, or in this case, two unconscious boys stuck in a single body. In the end, however, he gave a gentle pat on their upper arm and used his other hand to carefully roll them on their stomach so that he could have full access to their back.

Green eyes stared intently at the two golden protrusions surrounded by a purple line. Unlike everyone thought, however, those weren't just pretty decorations, but had been designed with a specific task in mind. Whenever Forte would be too weak after a harsh battle, or knocked out, the two converters on his back would collect energy from the surrounding area so that the navi would be able to recover without external help.

The process was extremely slow, however. At the time of their development, ten years ago, Cossack had been unable to render the two devices more powerful and keep them small so to not hinder Forte in his movements. And they didn't work in the real world.

It was understandable. After all, the devices were designed to collect the faint background electric energy that existed everywhere in the cyberworld, something that didn't exist in the real world outside of power cables and electronic devices. And even then, the charge could be too powerful for the weakened body to handle.

It was Yuichiro that came up with the brilliant idea of using the two special batteries that Netto and Forte had charged for Enzan when he had disguised himself as them to fool Dark Mu. The batteries had remained forgotten into the pocket of his lab coat until he started to think about a way to reproduce the navi's energy, or at least find a good substitute.

But as much as they had been lucky with that, there was still the problem that the batteries had a very limited charge capacity, and although they had been filled to the max, after about five hours they were almost empty.

The man sighed, letting his mind chase several thoughts and ideas on where to find another suitable energy source while he checked the cables that connected the two batteries to Forte's converters. Not having access to SciLabs's most advanced machinery, and despite Yaito having a lot of stuff at her disposal, they had ended up using a simple adhesive tape to keep the wires fixed in place.

Cossack hoped that the energy stored in the two batteries would be enough for Forte and Netto to at least wake up from their coma.

When he made sure that the tape wouldn't fall off, the man slowly rolled the boys back onto their right side and sat on a nearby chair, closing his eyes. He could not remember the last time he had slept. While he worked to understand the symbiosis between the two, time seemed to not exist, but now that he had taken a pause, long hours of writing hundreds of equations and diagrams were quickly crashing on him.

"Yuichiro is rubbing on me," he muttered in amusement as he relaxed his tired body. "I'm getting too old for sleepless nights."

As he slipped into a deep slumber, red eyes opened slightly and tried to stare at the man through a veil of blurriness.

.

* * *

.

Enzan was not happy.

He was close. So close that he could almost feel the person that had framed two innocent people, Cossack and Forte, within his grasp. Yet, he was at the same time so far away that the mission he had willingly taken felt almost impossible to complete.

The culprit, a scientist working for Tadashi Hikari, Netto's grandfather, had covered his tracks very well in the past. There were no certainty to the hints he had collected from the case files and from very old logs in the archives of both NetPolice and SciLabs, leaving him with just theories and dead ends.

"Enzan-sama," Blues's always welcomed voice filtered through the speakers of his computer and the boy looked up from a paper filled with his own scribbles and notes. "There is nothing of value in the newspaper archives."

Enzan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Then there is no other way but to check out the personal records and journals of those who worked in SciLabs ten years ago," he leaned onto the back of his chair and looked out of the window of his office in IPC's main building. "We'll start with those who are still working in there, in particular those who have tried to harm Netto and Forte."

The boy wasn't keen in invading people's personal space, especially without an official permission. But waiting for a search warranty would take too long, and he had the suspicion that, as soon as the rumor of the Alpha Incident case being reopened got out, the man he was looking for would disappear.

Perhaps, he could say that, in his own way, he hated injustice as much as Netto did.

As Blues nodded and logged into the net to carry out his new orders, Enzan was left alone with his thoughts. His eyes moved away from the window and down onto a small paper calendar on his desk. It was simple and looked harmless, but as he flipped some of the pages, a red circle on one of the days made him stop and tense.

A little more than three months.

That was how long Netto had been missing.

Enzan released the pages of the calendar and watched as they flopped back onto their original position while his mind traveled to his friend. Doctor Hikari and Doctor Cossack, two of the best scientific minds on the planet, had answered some questions, in particular how that rare Mu metal was amplifying a miniature Dimensional Area and how Netto and Forte shared a symbiotic relationship with each other, but there were so many more to be answered…

What was "the code" that Dark Mu was so intent on having back?

He could understand wanting Forte back. The black navi was powerful, and if subdued to the will of the Emperor, he could be used as a tool for conquering the world, but a code?

"Why do I have the feeling that things aren't just as simple as they appears to be?"

Enzan hoped that Netto would be able to wake up soon and help them figure out what was happening and, hopefully, where Dark Mu's main base was located. Amerope was too big of a place to search without at least a hint.

But as he was starting to give up on that particular search, his eyes fell onto the photo of an ancient bowl with unknown symbols on it. He stared at it for several long seconds until he scoffed and shoved it aside. "There is no way it could be real…"

Yet, the more he denied it, the more he felt the urge to investigate this unbelievable path. After seeing Dimensional Areas, a planet getting almost digitalized and an alien navi hell bent on destroying it, he shouldn't discard something just because he had no proof that it existed.

As he glanced once again at the photo he had taken of the bowl, his hands grabbed the keyboard and started to type on it. If the fabled continent of Mu existed, then there were bound to be hints of its location somewhere.

"Hikari Netto," he muttered as he started to check out several pages depicting ancient ruins around the world. "What have you gotten into _this_ time?"

The information that came up on the monitor of his computer was as farfetched as the idea of Mu actually existing, and none of it seemed to be useful to him. It was just a bunch of speculations, theories and stories on how Mu and its people could look like, what kind of culture there was and if it was really as advanced as the legend told.

But there was nothing concrete on its location. Some said it was at the bottom of one of the oceans, some were convinced that it was locked into an alternate dimension and many just thought that it had been destroyed completely by some apocalyptic event that their ancient and arcane science initiated.

All in all, it was like looking for something true on something that might be not real amongst information that could very well be made up by someone with a too large imagination. Enzan wasn't even sure what to consider or to discard.

"Perhaps this is not the right way to go at it," he muttered as he pushed the keyboard away from him and stared down at the piece of paper he had been writing on. So far, all he found pointed to Amerope and the oceans around it, which was a fact that he had known since the beginning. "It's a dead end…"

Yet, after seeing all those images of ruins and artifacts with those symbols, that sometimes were dated over two thousands years old, the boy felt even more convinced that Dark Mu's main base could be the lost continent of Mu.

As much as insane that was…

A blue shower of data materialized into his computer, and Enzan turned his eyes to look as his navi came back from his mission. And realized that he had spent over three hours in his research without even feeling the passage of time.

"I hope you had an easier time than I did, Blues," the boy greeted his partner with a small nod. If his navi had good news, it would make his time spent on a wild goose chase feel less wasted.

Blues frowned a bit, but nodded back and held up a hand holding a golden colored piece of compacted data. "Nothing much, Enzan-sama," he replied as he started to decompress the information and load it on his operator's computer so he could display it to him. "But what I found is something that might get us on the right track."

As the data started to flash through the screen, Enzan's neutral expression became harsh and his mouth was pulled into an angered frown while he read bits of info. "Do you know who did it?" to think that one of the people working in SciLabs was capable of selling classified and potentially dangerous data to someone outside the labs was something that made his stomach churn in disgust.

Blues shook his head. "I have no name associated with this," he replied, showing a particular file depicting the diagrams of an inner circuit of the old Dimensional Area converter. That device had fallen in disuse as soon as Wily had given SciLabs the plans for the generator and the schematics had been locked away under heavy security. "These transactions were made on the farthest reaches of SciLabs's net and I found the data only by coincidence."

The navi then paused and frowned, recalling in his mind how he had found the scattered data laying on the ground. He was on his way to SciLabs's net and its servers, but as soon as he entered it, something had caught his attention. He wasn't sure what it had been, but he had followed it nonetheless.

At first he had thought that it had been a virus, but when no attack came, he started to suspect that it was a spy from Dark Mu running off. The chase had lasted a few minutes, leading him off from the main path and into an old and disused one that ended abruptly against a firewall. He found no intruder, but it was there that he found the scattered data on the ground. Someone, after sending a copy through the firewall, had destroyed their own copy of the original, which was still secured within SciLabs.

Blues supposed he should feel lucky, but deep down he was feeling like he had been led there on purpose, as if someone wanted him to find those broken pieces of information.

"Netto was the first to suspect that SciLabs was being spied on," Enzan's voice broke the navi out of his thoughts. The boy was now scrolling the information looking for anything particular that could give him a good lead while tapping a finger on the desk. "That is why he never called by phone and instead sent me a postcard."

When he was done viewing all the bits of data that had survived deletion, Enzan sighed. "However, I would have never thought that there would be someone that sells information." That could explain how Dark Mu had gotten their hands onto the Dimensional Area technology to create the Materializers and the data on Cross Fusion.

Blues gave another nod, agreeing with his operator. "After I collected this data, I returned to my main mission," he continued as he started to upload on the computer what little he had found. "There isn't much. Personal journals and records are clean, but I checked the logs of ten years ago again. Things haven't changed from my last visit, but I tried to dig deeper into the system, and recovered a log that might help."

The list that Enzan started to read had several different names to it, but one in particular kept repeating over and over. Kurosaki Noboru was a man that had been fully intolerant of Forte's presence within SciLabs, and was convinced that the troubles with the net and the bugs that often appeared were the navi's doing.

Typing a few commands on his keyboard, Enzan used his credentials as NetSavior to take Kurosaki's ID file from SciLabs's archives. Noboru, age fifty-three, had been part of the team working on Alpha's project and was -and still kept his position nowadays- head for the development of the internal network's security and firewalls. The man was the same person that had recently tried to restrain and kill Netto, who had been posing as Forte.

"Blues," the boy called to his navi to gain his full attention. "I want this man under surveillance. If he tried to kill Forte both in the past and in the present for some form of revenge, what stops him from selling data to the enemy?"

"Yes, Enzan-sama," the navi replied with a small nod. He was as calm as usual, but deep down he felt a small thrill as he got ready to chase yet another criminal. "I will take care of this."

Enzan grinned as he watched Blues leave for the net to get their suspect under surveillance. The day was turning out to be good.

.

* * *

.

Trying to walk towards the fridge with a nearly useless leg that was in constant pain, the inability to float and a few-hours-long-and-heated discussion with a voice in your head was not easy.

Forte was regretting even getting out of bed.

"Stop your pestering, Hikari," because he was still getting used to controlling an organic body, the words that came out were hoarse, faint and a bit slurred. At least it was his voice, and not Netto's, that filled the almost empty room. Almost, because his creator was still sleeping on the chair.

He wasn't sure how he could deal with him. Even after knowing the truth behind the whole mess that had been the Alpha Incident, facing the man that had given him life was something that Forte wanted to avoid at the moment.

Besides, he was too hungry to do anything but eat. Organics and their stupid need for organic food. If it was just him, and back into the net, he would have absorbed anything that came his way and his recovery would have been much quicker than this. He supposed he should be happy that they were both alive after the last battle and that nothing really important had been damaged. At the moment, however, he was just too… grouchy to care.

_Seriously, Forte,_ Netto was as tired as Forte was, and if he concentrated, he could feel the sharp stings of pain coming from their left thigh and the terrible hunger that was constricting their stomach. _Talk to him. This is your best chance at clearing things out!_

The navi grunted out in annoyance, hating the fact that although he could now move as he pleased, he still couldn't punch the boy in the face. "It's none of your business!" he growled out as he grabbed the edge of the table and stopped to give their aching muscles a rest. "Leave me alone!"

Still, Forte couldn't help but slightly turn around and take another look at the slumbering man. Most of him wanted to never see him again, but a small part felt lured towards his creator. Yet, ten long years of suffering, hate and anger were hard to just forget and act like nothing had happened. No matter what Netto said about Cossack forgiving him.

Too tired and hurt to continue, Forte sat down onto a nearby chair with a muted groan and looked at the scattered papers on the table. He wasn't sure what they were all about. Didn't even care. The codes, graphs and handwritten notes were far too complex for even him, an AI program, to understand. But his gaze still fell onto a tiny piece of yellow paper with a quickly written scribble on it.

_Symbiosis,_ Netto read out for him, his voice tinted with worry. _I have a bad feeling about that…_

Grateful that the boy had stopped annoying him with their previous topic of discussion, the navi started to sift through more papers, feeling strangely curious after reading the yellow note. If he concentrated and examined the information on them more carefully, he could recognize bits of his own coding that Doctor Cossack had written. But there was nothing in the room that could examine them to the point of breaking through their defenses and read his Core Program. Not even Dark Mu's computers had managed to do that in a week's time.

_Maybe he wrote all this by memory,_ Netto suggested as he felt Forte's confusion. _Dad does that a lot. He doesn't rely on computers as much as others do, so he keeps the most important data in his head. I can recognize his writing. No idea what all that stuff is about, though. We'd have to ask him…_

Forte nodded. That his creator would remember parts of his Core Program made sense. The man was a genius when it came to programming a navi, or anything that had to do with it, and had been the one to create his GetAbility program. Something that no one else had been able to replicate.

Despite his troubled emotions caused by the closeness to his creator, his eyes softened as he read the notes that the man had scribbled almost everywhere. It had been so long since he last saw something like this and the feeling of familiarity was strangely welcomed. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it.

As he and Netto read more of the notes, forgetting about the hunger that had forced them out of the bed, they started to learn more about their Cross Fusion. A fusion that was on a molecular level, where flesh and data were melded together in a single big, yet working, mess inside a 'skin-tight' Dimensional Area that followed and shifted at even the smallest movement they did.

And worst of all, it seemed that neither Doctor Hikari nor Doctor Cossack knew how to separate the two without causing heavy damage. Netto was right in having a bad feeling about the whole 'symbiosis' issue.

_So, basically,_ the boy's voice was strangely devoid of panic. _We're stuck like this for who knows how long… Awesome!_

Forte knew what sarcasm was, and although he had never seen Netto use it, he had to agree with him. With a body that was both flesh and data, that had no definite boundary between organic and energy, and with his Core Program in such a disarray that not even his own creator could make head or tails of it, the situation was just how the boy had defined it. 'Awesome'.

The navi rubbed his face with a hand and leaned onto the table with the other. "It's absurd," he grunted out as he glanced at the scattered papers through the space between his fingers. "What have they done to us? Why us anyway?"

_I'm not sure about why me. All I remember is checking out a warehouse because of a leak of energy,_ still, Netto had the suspect that his incredible fortune had played a major role in it. He didn't know why, but things had always happened around him. From evil organizations that wanted to take over the world, to alien navis that wanted to destroy it. It was a perfectly normal thing in his life. _But I have the feeling that you were taken because you are strong, Forte. And with that ability to copy other's moves and attacks, well, think where someone could go with… it…_

Both boy and navi paused as they came to the same realization that Enzan had reached a few days before them. "GetAbility," Forte whispered, eyes narrowing and hand tensing against his face. "He wanted it, that despicable human."

How the head of Dark Mu wanted to take the navi's strength and abilities for himself without Forte lashing out in his brain -like he had done at the beginning with Netto- was something that the two still didn't know. The possibilities, however, weren't nice.

_I wish I could remember,_ Netto murmured. _How did we end up in Amerope when the last place I remember to be in was a warehouse in Densan City? How long have we been like this? I know you said it's about two months, but… I don't know about you, but I feel it was… longer…_

Forte hummed as he closed his eyes and rubbed their wounded leg. Thorough all their reading, it had never stopped hurting. There was also a faint scratch on their left cheek and eyebrow, but it was a minor itch and it would disappear completely in a day or so. Provided that they found a source of energy to replenish their almost empty reserves.

At that thought, Forte sent a dark glare at the fridge sitting innocently on the other side of the room, uncaring that someone was starving. There was no way that he would be able to drag his way to it, no matter the amount of hunger he felt, and there was no way he was going to ask someone to help him out. Especially if that someone was his creator, who was still sleeping on the chair near the bed.

_You know…I think you should really face him now, Forte,_ Netto had easily picked up the navi's emotions and had instantly associated them with Doctor Cossack. _I don't want to push you around, but… talk to him. Or at least, listen to what he has to say. It'll do good to both of you._

"When did you become this wise, Hikari?" Forte was still not in the mood to talk about anything regarding the man that had created him. Yet, he had no will left to fight his companion. Maybe it was because he was too tired and hungry to do that.

The boy gave a mental shrug. _It's what I think is the best way to do it,_ he replied casually. _It's what I'd do, but again, I'm not you so it's your choice._

The navi hummed. Netto had left the final choice to him and, despite being annoyed by his insistence, he appreciated how the boy was acting. A part of him even wondered how his life would have turned out if the Netto of today was there with him ten years ago. Sure, the boy was nothing but a baby at the time he had been betrayed, but 'what ifs' were interesting things to ponder about.

"You and your stupid hero complex, Hikari," Forte eventually muttered as he closed his eyes again and tried to make sense of his confused emotions. He was so deep in his thoughts, however, that he never noticed that the man who had been sleeping on the chair had awakened and was now standing up.

Although he had managed to sleep some hours, sleeping on a chair was not something a man of his age should do. Sure, being in his late forties couldn't be really considered as old, but Cossack was starting to feel the small aches in his bones when he strained his body. He blamed it all on his traveling, the rather poor care he gave himself in the past years and a wound in his heart that had never healed.

"It's something that runs in the family, Forte" he explained. As soon as he saw the black figure sitting on the chair, he knew that it was his son. He couldn't explain it. Perhaps it was the way how he sat at the table that had tipped him off, and when the navi had spoken, he knew for sure. "I think it might be genetic, too."

Forte didn't reply. Didn't even move a muscle. Still, despite his lack of motion, he could feel Netto's human heart respond to his fear, anxiety and distress by quickening its pace. It was almost painful and his eyes darted around in search of a quick exit that didn't involve flying out of the closed window or painfully drag his way to the door.

But when Doctor Cossack walked to the fridge and looked inside, Forte forgot about his previous thoughts of escaping the room and watched as the man took something out and inserted it into a microwave. The silence between them was thick, not even the humming sound coming from the working electronics in the room helped in easing the tension.

"It has been so long," the man started as he kept his eyes on the small red numbers of the microwave's counter. His voice was so different from the one Forte remembered. Not because the tone had changed, but because it had lost that cheery undertone that had characterized him in the past. "I… I'm sorry."

It was all that Cossack could say, and felt extremely stupid at it, too. He had spent long hours searching for the right words, had composed long, detailed explanations on why he couldn't help his son when he needed it, but in the end, after all that thinking, all he could say were those two pathetic words.

Yet, he had said them with so much sadness and guilt that Forte looked at the man's back in shock. Before all this happened, he was sure that he would have scoffed and felt offended by those words, but now… now everything was different. And he could feel Netto's silent presence. Always there to back him up even if he didn't want it…

"That was lame, I know," Cossack continued after the microwave pinged to signal that whatever was inside was warm. There was more fiddling as he took the food from the inside, then walked to the table and placed a bowl in the middle of it before taking a seat in front of the black navi. "But it's the first thing that came out. Nothing else would."

Forte watched as the man folded his hands on the table and looked down at them in sadness and guilt, unable to say anything more than what he had already done. He realized that his creator was waiting for him to say something, to do something, maybe even kill him with a simple swipe of his arm. Yet, the more he tried to do something, the more he was left there in a frozen stupor.

He felt no anger, no burning desire for revenge, no hate. Nothing except confusion and anxiety. He wanted out, wanted it to end, but he simply could do nothing. It was like being caught by a few Leeches, with the only difference that here his body simply refused moving opposed to being unable to move.

They spent long minutes like that, until Cossack gave a muted sigh and stood up, understanding that things weren't going as he had wished. He had always known that it would have been hard, that there would have been awkward moments, but a lack of response, any kind of response, was what told him that he had failed. Again.

_Don't let him go!_

"Wait."

Forte was as surprised as his creator was when he heard his own voice calling out to the man. He never had the intention of talking to him, neither now nor later, but when Netto's shout filled his head, his mouth moved on its own, following a desire that was buried deep down in his consciousness. For a moment he was not sure what he should do. He had no experience with this kind of situations. His way of dealing with things involved fighting and maybe some words, not just words.

Then, he came to a sudden realization. He had been born as a fighter, he had always been sure of himself, headstrong in his decisions and uncaring of what others thought of him. That was why he looked up at his creator and hardened his gaze. He was not going to let the stupid feelings of awkwardness and anxiety get the better of him!

Cossack's green eyes stared in his son's red ones for a long moment, then sat down again with a nod. Forte willingly giving him a chance to explain himself was what he had always wanted, and he would be a fool to let this single chance slip through his fingers.

There was the issue of how to start, though. Despite knowing the story first hand, without his son asking questions it would be hard to explain, and as he stole another glance at the navi in front of him, he knew that he would not ask. Just listen.

"I have no family. I was too dedicated to my work to marry and have kids," the man started, thinking that starting from the very beginning was the best idea. "But when I first activated you and you opened your eyes to stare at me in curiosity… I felt like the happiest man in the world and finally understood why Yuichiro was so happy to be a father even before his son was born."

He chuckled a bit at remembering the times when the young Hikari would space out and just smile for entire minutes before someone woke him up from his happy daze or he crashed into something because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. His spells of daydreaming even extended a few months after Netto's birth. It was both sweet and funny, and it never got old in his eyes. Especially after Forte was activated.

However, his mood sobered when he remembered what came next. "But being proud of you was not the same as being a good father. I should have sat down with you and explained that although you wanted to help, although your way of troubleshooting the system was extremely effective, not many liked it," his eyes filled with shame for himself and guilt. "I was such a fool… to think that everyone would eventually see you for what you truly were… a sentient being capable of taking decisions on his own and feel the same emotions humans feel…"

Forte stared and shivered at the mention of people thinking about him as a something rather than someone. Maybe if they had taken in consideration the fact that he was a lot more like them than a navi of that time, his life wouldn't have been screwed so badly.

"And then there was Alpha," as Doctor Cossack resumed his tale, the navi's eyes hardened for a moment upon remembering the real cause of his and the network's problems. "After I was forced to restrain you, Alpha went unchecked and the bugs overwhelmed the system. I received a mail from Yuichiro just as I got home, telling me that the entire network was collapsing. Fueled by fear of what might happen to you, I turned around to go back to SciLabs, but was stopped by a few policemen. No amount of explanation and pleading helped me get out of arrest. They believed that I was the direct cause of Alpha's wrongdoings and that I was going back to SciLabs to finish the job."

Forte felt like stone. He knew the entire story from beginning to end, from his own point of view and from what the police's files had told him, but hearing it from his creator was completely different. He could hear all the different emotions in the man's voice, ranging from sorrow to guilt to self-shame, and it made him feel weird. As if something was crushing him into a pulp.

Cossack was really berating himself for how things had gone. That was not what a father was supposed to do, after all. "I feel so ashamed, Forte," a lone tear slid down his left cheek and disappeared into his beard. "I should have come looking for you sooner than this. To at least give you the explanations you deserved. But I was scared of your reaction, scared of more pain… so I left."

He was glad that events, but mainly Yuichiro's son, had given him the opportunity to talk to Forte face to face and not through a screen. It was more personal, more meaningful. And despite feeling unworthy of being a father, he still considered Forte as his son, so he wanted to at least meet him one last time before dying. No matter the outcome, because it meant everything to him.

"I'm tired of running away from everything. I'm ready for whatever reaction you will have, even the most severe," despite he whispered his words, the man lifted his head to look at Forte right in his eyes. "No matter what, Forte. I do love you, son."

Forte stared, unable to decide what to do as the man sitting in front of him was ready to accept whatever decision he would take and not regret it. He wanted to shout, he wanted to be angry and to hate as they were emotions that he was accustomed to. Even attacking was something he could do without effort. All he had to do was swing an arm and hit his creator on the head and watch him die a slow and painful death.

Still, the navi sat there, not even blinking away from that steady emerald gaze that was searching for a reaction from him. Any kind of reaction.

And in the end he did react, but not in a way that everyone expected.

He leaned forwards and extended his right arm, but instead of charging up an attack to hit Cossack right in the face, he grabbed the cooling bowl of broth and carried it in front of him. There was a moment of pause as he watched his reflection on the clear liquid and pondered about how much he had changed in the little time he had been stuck together with Netto.

_See?_ Netto's voice was a welcome change from the deafening silence that had filled the room after the man had finished his tale. _Don't you feel better?_

Forte blinked and stared into the reflection of his eyes. For a moment he thought he had seen Netto's brown eyes, looking smug and triumphant, and that stole him a tiny smile. "Maybe," he muttered, sipping some of the broth and finding its taste intense despite its smooth simplicity.

He looked down at the bowl with a surprised expression. No wonder Netto was so fond of food. The stuff was good.

.

* * *

.

By the time Cossack walked out of the large tree house to sit on a deckchair near the door with a tired, but content sigh, Yuichiro had returned from his short visit to his wife. The woman, after seeing that her son was getting better, was recovering her usual cheeriness. Although still worried about Netto, and even the navi that he was fused with, she had felt that by standing by their side all day would only hinder her husband and his two colleagues in finding a way to help the two boys.

That was why she visited only a couple of times at day, preferring to spend time in the mansion to study foreign recipes to cook for Netto and Forte when they would wake up. Knowing her son, he would be delighted to eat something good after three months of eating only whatever he could find. Yaito and Meiru were dividing their time in helping her and helping Dekao in searching the net for anything useful.

So far, however, they had only found out that certain navis from the Undernet were contacting people unsatisfied with the current society to have them join Dark Mu. Dekao and Gutsman were so focused on their self imposed mission to find information that they had managed to travel to the zone of the desert where the criminals met.

The boy had described the place to be a large, sandy square located in the middle of rock formations, with a black market for chips and programs of all sort and a couple of boards to post whatever insult to the surface came to the user's mind. After hearing it, Enzan had suspected that Dark Mu used that same board to identify those who would gladly join their organization.

With Rockman and Blues too known by net society to be part of the NetSavior group, which was under the direct orders of Commissioner Kifune -a NetPolice employee- Enzan had decided to leave the task of finding more information to the trio.

All in all, they were starting to make progress, and everyone was feeling fueled with energy.

Even the two doctors sitting on the small balcony of the tree house felt energized despite the large lack of sleep.

"I'm guessing that it went well," Yuichiro started, watching Meiru, Yaito and Dekao walk in the distance, probably taking a pause from their mission to talk about their findings and make sense of them. He would have to thank them for all the effort they put into helping his son. "You have been in there for a while now."

Cossack smiled and looked up at the green leaves of the tree, eyes softening and feeling his spirit as light as air. "He was in control, Yuichiro," he started. He felt so… giddy at the moment that if he had the physique, he would start running laps around the Ayanokouji's mansion and laugh while doing it. "He gave me a chance."

Netto's father nodded and looked down at the folder he was holding in his lap. Inside there were scans of Netto's head that had been taken when the doctor had demanded to check the boy's health. His son had a swelling of blood in his brain that would probably keep him into a coma until his body absorbed the excess, and it was too deeply located and too complicated to manually drain it, so all they could do was to wait and hope.

That Forte had taken over and was controlling the shared body could make sense, as much as baffling that was. The two were in a symbiosis, and it was possible that the navi had found a way, willingly or unconsciously, to be in control so that he could take care of their needs and not be helpless if they were attacked.

Yuichiro smiled and tapped a finger on the armchair, happy that Cossack had been given the second chance he deserved. "How is he doing?"

The older man sobered and hummed, thinking. When he was sitting in front of his son, he had been too busy wallowing in self pity and guilt to really take a deep look at him. "As well as they can be," he replied, remembering how, after drinking half of the broth, Forte had stumbled back to bed and collapsed on it with a tired grumble. "They seem to look for a light source, though. I've seen Forte shift until his back was under a few patches of sun. If they can drain some energy from sunrays, that might be how they have survived for three days without food, water and a large gash on the leg."

Netto's father nodded, memorizing that small detail for later. "That's interesting, but I wanted to know how Forte is doing. Emotionally."

There were several long seconds of silence, then Cossack smiled gently and looked at his colleague. "He's… not sure of what he should do now. How he should react," he replied, remembering how his son had been barely moving while he told him his tale, and how at the end, when Forte was looking at his reflection on the broth, he was sure he had glimpsed a different pair of eyes. "But your son is with him, Yuichiro. Forte is not alone."

Yuichiro chuckled. Leave it up to Netto to befriend a troubled and emotionally closed navi like Forte and drag him out of the dark pit he had hidden into. "Netto is a good boy, even if he has a tendency to rush into things. He always do what he think is right. And not just because it is 'the right thing to do' and he has to do it, but he does it because he wants to and believes in it."

Cossack became serious, but his eyes sparkled with that cheeriness that had disappeared after the Alpha Incident. "Your son is a godsend, Yuichiro. A hero at heart."

Netto's father laughed heartily, then shook his head. "Yes, but don't let him hear that, though. It'll only get to his head."

At that, the two exploded into loud laughs that rung through the small wood of Yaito's immense garden.

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* * *

.

"Meijin, are you sure this is the right way?"

Rockman was not used to be operated by someone that was not Netto, but he had to do this. With Enzan and Blues busy with their own search for Dark Mu and anything connected to it, and with Roll, Glyde and Gutsman too weak to get that deep into the Undernet Desert, he was the only one to have the necessary skills to check out the deepest parts of the net. And so far, Meijin had proven to be an exceptional operator despite not being used to partnering with the blue navi.

"I'm positive, Rockman," the young man replied as a small floating window appeared next to Rockman. From where they were standing, on top of a large rocky formation in the middle of a wasteland, Meijin could see the extremely large sandstorm in the distance. "From what I gathered from the UnderSquare's boards, this is the place where Forte was last spotted before he was seen in the real world a month and half later."

Rockman frowned and looked at the expanse of sandy dunes and occasional spire of dark tan rock. All in all, the sight was depressing and lonely and even viruses were rare so deep into the desert. And now that he looked closer, he couldn't even see those kind of viruses that lived there, as if they had been scared away by something worse.

"Maybe you're right," the navi said to Meijin, jumping down the cliff and walking through the dunes, keeping his eyes open for any enemy, virus or navi, that could attack him. "This might be the right place where to start."

They weren't exactly sure what they were looking for. Perhaps a link to Dark Mu's network and servers, or maybe just a hint to where to find the actual base, but Rockman was tired of sitting around and waiting. He was worried for his operator, yes, but he wanted to help everyone out as best as he could, and Meijin asking him to check out the deepest part of the Undernet had been the perfect occasion.

"I don't know how Forte can live down here," Rockman muttered to himself, feeling unnerved by the silence broken only by the sound of his steps. He suddenly turned around and frowned as he let his eyes scan the dunes to his left. For a moment he had thought that he had heard the sand shift, but when nothing moved, he sighed and shook his head. "Must be my imagination…"

After that, his journey through the desert was uneventful. For hours, nothing moved, nothing flew into the black sky and no sound filtered through the thick silence. Even Meijin had started to feel unnerved by the stillness. Rockman had become increasingly alert as time passed, but that didn't help him in the slightest when the sand suddenly exploded under his feet, flying high into the cyber sky along with him.

He rolled into the air uncontrollably several times, then, when he finally regained some control and looked under him, his green eyes widened. The sand was still flying everywhere, but was quickly parting away as a giant shark-like head poked out of the surface with the speed and violence of a train.

The head was almost as large as a football field, devoid of eyes or nose, and with thick and hard looking plaques of the same color of the sand. As the beast pushed upwards with its body that looked like a scaled worm with shark fins, it opened its mouth and hundreds of large needle like teeth glistened in the Undernet's diffused light, screaming their deadliness to the giant shark-worm's prey.

It was only thanks to Meijin's fast reflexes that Rockman got out of the situation unharmed by being forcefully logged out of the net.

"Now we know how Forte was captured so easily," the blue navi said as he reappeared into the safety of his PET. He was still shaken by the close encounter. "I never felt it get close to me. It was as if it didn't exist…"

The young man nodded, remembering seeing a smaller version of the beast swimming through the sands of the fake Undernet Desert that Dark Mu had created for Forte's consciousness. "This might be a problem, but now we know that the link to their servers is somewhere in there. This thing seems to be acting as a guard."

Rockman nodded, and hoped that the large shark-like worm was never summoned out of its guard duty to battle on the surface net. It would be really hard to defeat it considering that it remained hidden and undetected until it attacked. And with that size, it could destroy the largest net city in a matter of minutes.

"I hope it wasn't loaded with the code that lets viruses materialize in the real world…"

Meijin sighed and nodded, his eyes scanning the computer room that Yaito had kindly let him use to check out the net. There were several tables with computers on them, but until that moment he had only used two. One to keep eyes on Rockman while he moved through the net and the other to check out a commercial navi that he had sent to the UnderSquare to read the boards and collect any info he found. "Let's hope, but let's not count on that…"

Rockman had the sudden feeling that things were brewing somewhere, and that this moment of peace was just like the famous 'calm before the storm'.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN:** To all my wonderful readers out there! I'm sorry it took me so long to update this fic, but this chapter gave me a lot of problems till the very end. It's not the best I could do, but I've been struggling with this one for so long that I just want to be done with it, regardless of the end result.

It's a slow chapter, action wise, but I need this, and possibly the next one, to set up the stage needed for the next part of the fic where things will progress.

Thanks to my beta-readers, SoulAura777 and Mistrevar for picking out the errors and telling me where to correct sentences to render this chapter less of a mess.

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* * *

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It was another nice summer day, with only a few puffy, white clouds floating into the bright blue sky, uncaring of the dangers afflicting the planet below. Birds were singing to their hearts' content in the branches of the trees, challenging each other to see who was better and to conquer a female for nesting, while a faint scent of baked goods came from an opened window of the mansion.

Forte would have enjoyed the peace if it wasn't for the fact that he was sitting on a bench in the middle of the garden and staring at a pile of books sitting on his lap. Books that had been carefully dropped there by a very determined girl with the firm order of Netto _having_ to do them before the end of the month before sauntering away at a brisk pace.

Rockman hadn't been of much help either. All the blue navi did was smile apologetically at Forte and inform him that it was either the completion of the homework or risk the wrath of a really angered Meiru Sakurai. Something that Netto briefly felt worried about despite having faced far much worse in his life.

"This is ridiculous," Forte muttered as he carelessly pushed the books aside to let them slide on the bench with a rustle of paper. "I'm a navi. A warrior. I'm not going to stoop so low as to make… useless homework."

With the peaceful day ruined by a measly human girl, the navi leaned back onto the bench and looked up at the lush green foliage of the tree hanging above, enjoying the rhythmic movements of the leaves in the wind.

"To think that before this I would have gladly destroyed all this…" he muttered to himself, eyes closing. "What's happening to me? What have you done to me, Hikari boy?"

He waited for several seconds, but when no answer came, Forte took a deep breath and released it slowly. Netto had been silent for days now, quietly sitting in the back of the head and just observing things with a detached interest, and often… 'zoning out'.

The navi gritted his teeth and growled his displeasure out loud. He knew exactly why the kid was acting so differently than usual. The 'nightmare' hadn't come back to haunt them in their sleep after the first time they had it days ago, but the images, the sounds, even the feelings were so vivid in their memories that it was as if it had just happened.

He brought one hand to the chest and felt the steady thump of the heart for several long seconds, reassuring himself of what was the true reality. Still, the memories returned every time he focused his attention on his uncharacteristically silent partner.

They had been laying on a cold stone floor, with blurred figures hovering above them, quick in their movements as they shifted their unresponsive body in a less haphazard position. They were shouting to each other, with one commanding the others to do certain things, but the words were incomprehensible blobs of sounds to them, often overlapping with the sharp, intermittent whine of a dying machine laying somewhere outside their fading sight.

But laying on the ground while people fussed around them was not what disturbed the kid to the point of retracting into a shell of silence. What changed Netto's mood so drastically was that during those five minutes or so, there was no heart beating in their chest.

Yet, the 'nightmare' wasn't a problem until they woke up and realized that the figment of their imagination wasn't just that, but a real memory. It was then that Netto had gone into some sort of mental lockdown, leaving him alone to try and understand why all they could remember of it were images, sounds and physical feelings, but no emotions.

Forte wasn't too troubled by that memory because of his previous near-death experience, but everything was just so confusing…

"Forte…"

For a moment, the black navi didn't bother answering Rockman's call and did move from his slouched position on the bench. It was only when his rival shuffled his feet against the dusty ground of the park that Forte opened one eye and glared at him, wondering if he should just ignore him or know what he wanted from him.

"The wound is healing as Doctor Hikari had expected," Forte said, anticipating the question lingering onto Rockman's lips. How odd, though… he couldn't remember when he had started to refer to Netto's father as 'doctor' instead of 'human'. "The stitches have been taken off this morning."

The blue navi shook his head. "I know that the wound is healing," he said, taking a step towards the other, but still maintaining that minimal distance so that Forte would feel comfortable. His green eyes moved from the bandaged leg to the single red eye gazing at him. "Physically, you're recovering, yes. But… how are you two doing?"

Forte closed his eyes and pondered. Rockman was right. They were healing physically, but what about mentally? He could say that he was as fine as he had ever been since he was used to being on the brink of death. Netto however… he was physically as fine as he was since they were sharing the same body, but mentally… he wasn't alright.

Since that nightmare, Netto was behaving like Forte himself. Quiet, moody and distant. The kid had issues, and wasn't doing anything to deal with them. Yet, for some strange reason, he was reluctant in letting anyone know how Netto was really doing. Sure, he probably needed time to sort things out. After all, the vivid memory of being 'dead' was not easy to digest, especially for a kid his age, but Netto's inability to bounce back up like he had always done in the past was annoying him.

And Forte hated it when something annoyed him.

He was unable to understand why he hated the silence more than Netto's continuous chit-chatting. At times, the hate grew so much to where it frustrated him to no end, leading him to walk restlessly around the huge garden and shoot dark glares at anyone who dared to approach him.

Forte had been doing just that that day until he decided to sit on the bench to think. That was when that red-headed girl and Rockman broke the peace with their demands. Well, only the female kid had demanded something, Rockman had just asked.

That line of thought brought Forte back to the present, with the blue navi still standing in front of him and looking at him with a mixture of worry and confusion, waiting for an answer.

"If you want to know how Hikari Boy is doing, find a way to talk directly with him," he replied, standing up and watching as a book fell from the bench with a thump. Unlike the others, which looked as if they had just come out of the factory, this one was worn and with the cover full of scratches.

Rockman reached down and grabbed it, patting the dust away. "I know Netto has a passion for NetBattling, but I didn't know he would use this book to the point of nearly wearing it out…"

As the blue navi turned the book around so that both could see the front cover, Forte felt instant recognition coming from Netto. It surprised him because it was the first time the kid paid so much attention to something since the nightmare.

"Look, Forte…" Rockman's voice made the black navi look up at his rival and their eyes met. For a moment they remained that way, trying to peer into each others' hidden emotions. "I know you don't trust anyone, but if you really need help, or even just ask something, everyone will be happy to help."

Forte frowned, his eyes narrowing in annoyance, but before he snapped back with one of his hate filled comments, Rockman shook his head and handed him the book he was holding. "If it makes you feel better, I can tell you that no one will hurt you as long as you are fused with Netto."

The black navi's gloved hand reluctantly grabbed the worn schoolbook, but still with a hint of curiosity lingering in the back of Forte's mind. Perhaps that book could bring Netto out of his shell and end the long silence he had fallen into. After all, it was better to have an annoying chatterbox rather than a quiet pot brewing dangerous emotions that could explode at any given moment.

Not that he cared about the kid, but headaches were no fun to deal with.

"And then what, Rockman?" Forte asked, glaring at the blue navi standing in front of him and behaving as if they were old friends talking about the weather. "Once I am separated from your operator, what do you think they will do to me? Of course, they will try to delete me just as they tried to do years ago."

Rockman was surprised by Forte's verbal jab but he didn't let his emotions show on his face and maintained a neutral expression. "Maybe they will, Forte," he replied, his eyes expressing determination and trust. "But do you really think Netto will let that happen? I thought you would at least know that since you and Netto spent months together in Cross Fusion."

Forte frowned, but had to silently agree with his strongest rival. Netto would never let anything happen to him, but would he be able to do that? Forte could trust the fact that Netto was audacious in fighting for what he believed in, but he was still a human kid bound by human rules.

Unless he became an outcast and outlaw. Just like him…

For some odd reason, Forte both liked and hated the idea, but he couldn't figure out why he felt conflicted about it.

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* * *

.

"Blues," Enzan's voice gained a strange echo in that unused part of SciLabs's net, almost creepy. "Did you find anything else?"

Blues shook his head, his long white hair waving behind him in a slow motion. "Not yet, Enzan-sama," he replied calmly. Behind his visor, however, his eyes narrowed in frustration at the unfruitful search he had been conducting for a couple of hours now. "I don't think we will find more here…"

Enzan sighed and rubbed his eyes, tired. He had lost track of time in how long they searched every corner of SciLabs' servers in search of any little detail that could be of importance to them. So far, they had discovered that someone had copied a lot of data regarding Cross Fusion, the Dimensional Area, with what little of Forte's data had survived Doctor Cossack's purge and something called the 'Alpha Project'.

The boy had been intrigued by the Alpha Project, but not even his level of clearance had gained him the rights for looking at the original copy of the files.

All in all, they had collected a good deal of stuff and Enzan was sure that if he presented the plethora of data to Dr. Hikari, it would shed light on several dark points of the situations they were dealing with. When the data mining was done, Enzan made Blues return where he had first followed the shady figure and discovered the broken pieces of data that hinted about someone selling information to Dark Mu.

"I don't think they will use this path again," Blues said after a while, walking along the firewall in search of something of interest. "Perhaps they are using another path, or even exchanging information through the real world."

Enzan frowned and let his eyes do a quick scan of all the data they had collected. "Or maybe there is nothing left to sell. Cross Fusion, Dimensional Area, even what information was left of Forte and something about 'Alpha'," he replied, voice etched with worry. "Those are the most important projects SciLabs is taking care of. And Alpha? Those files are so guarded that not even my official license and NetSavoir badge gave us access…"

"Perhaps Doctor Hikari might be of assistance here," Blues suggested as he gave up on following the firewall's internal parameters. It was clear to him that there would be nothing else of value there. "If anyone can access those files, it is him."

The white-haired boy nodded his head in agreement. "Good idea, Blues," he said as he held the PET up for his navi to log out of the internet.

Once Blues was back into the small device, Enzan grabbed the Materializer from his pocket and loaded his partner into it. Enzan's eyes observed as the blue squares of data appeared in the air and joined together to form the frame of his navi, soon leaving the two facing each other.

With no further need for words and with all the data they had collected secured into Enzan's PET, they left the room without rushing so that they wouldn't look suspicious if someone was spying on them.

They maintained the calm facade all the way down the building of NetPolice Headquarters until they disappeared into the waiting limo. Only then Enzan relaxed a bit and breathed a faint sigh of relief. "To the Ayanokouji's mansion."

The driver, someone that had served Enzan for years, replied with a polite nod and started the engine. "Should I make haste, sir?"

The boy took a few moments to think, then nodded. "Yes, but make sure not go too fast."

The car started to move immediately after, pulling out of the park and into the still empty street. A week after the last attack, NetPolice still hadn't deemed the situation safe enough to let citizens go out of their houses unless strictly necessary.

People still went to work and to the grocery store to get food, and kids still went to school, but the lingering feeling of fear was still present in the air, and Enzan couldn't help but feel like they were in a war.

Perhaps it was true, though. Dark Mu, although still a rather small and shady organization, had caused a great deal of damage and possessed enough power to wage a true war on the planet by using materialized viruses, navis and maybe even the new kind of Cross Fusion they had all seen on Netto and Forte.

At that thought, Enzan looked up at his navi and wondered how it would feel to share the same body for so long. "I do wonder…" he said softly. "I do wonder if Netto feels… if his Cross Fusion makes him feel different…"

Enzan's murmur attracted his navi's attention. "Doctor Hikari and Doctor Cossack have ascertained that his and Forte's fusion is different and that the two are sharing a symbiotic relationship," Blues replied, recalling all the data he knew about it. "Perhaps it does feel different."

Enzan nodded, turning his eyes to look out of the window as the city rushed past. The two doctors had also found that Forte's personality data wasn't located in the chest emblem along with the digitalized PET, but had loaded himself right into Netto's brain.

That was why Forte had been able to take control of Netto's body during the time when a hematoma would have knocked the boy unconscious. With the heightened healing ability the two had, the blotch of blood had been reabsorbed in a couple of days. Still, for some reason, the control hadn't shifted back to his friend and Forte didn't seem like he was keeping the boy relegated in the back on purpose.

Enzan gave a soft humph and slumped against the back of the seat, rested his head against it and closed his eyes while the car sped towards their destination.

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* * *

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As Meiru walked down the path with her head bowed, she thought back at her earlier encounter with Forte. She was not sure what she had hoped to accomplish by giving him all those books and homework that Netto needed to do. It was so unlike her to make a dangerous move, but she was tired of just sitting around and watching as others did all the work.

Perhaps she was hoping that her presence would have brought Netto back in control, but when the navi's red eyes glared at her, she felt small. How someone could have so much hate and contempt in them was beyond her understanding. It was as if Forte had tried to kill her with his gaze.

They had warned her of the navi's hatred for humanity and that he could react badly at any given moment. Netto's father had been precise on what to do when crossing path with Forte. Leave him alone and he would not bother with you.

"Meiru-chan, are you alright?"

Dekao's voice broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up, smiling at the sight of her two friends and their navis standing in the middle of the path. Meiru's navi, Roll, had a worried look on her face, but understood her operator's need to do something for Netto, even if just a little bit.

"I'm fine, Dekao," she replied as she quickened her pace, trying to forget those sharp eyes still impressed in her mind. "I gave Forte the homework for Netto, but he didn't seem like he was going to bother with keeping it for him."

The large boy frowned in confusion, not understanding why Meiru was so intent on risking her life to do something that had no apparent benefit for their trapped friend. "Meiru-chan," he started with a low voice, almost scared to upset her. "I don't think that Netto has the time to deal with homework…"

As those words left Dekao's mouth, Yaito was instantly in front of him and pointing her right index finger at his nose. "Can't you see it, Dekao?" she asked, her eyes almost shining dangerously as her forehead reflected some of the sunlight into the boy's face. "Netto has been wandering for more than three months, unable to call for help. Think about it…"

"Yaito is right, Dekao," Meiru nodded at the younger girl, smiling at the fact they had both reached the same conclusion. "Netto has been dealing with a lot in these past three months, and no he's not even in control of his own body. He might not want to do them, but having to deal with them will give him back some semblance of normalcy."

There was a moment of silence as the trio thought about their friend's current situation and how much they had missed him and wanted to talk to him again. Everyone agreed that Netto should have asked for help earlier instead of trying to do everything on his own.

"I can't believe that as soon as we leave him for five minutes, he gets in trouble," Meiru said, suddenly breaking the uneasy silence and gaining a couple of raised brows from her friends. Roll brought a hand to her mouth and chuckled while Gutsman looked confused and Glyde tried to remain neutral. "First the WWW, after that the Darkloids and the Dark Chips, then Nebula Gray, Duo and now Dark Mu… Why does it always have to be him?"

Meiru knew that Netto was perfectly capable of taking care of himself or he wouldn't be one of the best NetBattlers and part of the NetSaviors, but she couldn't help feeling worried about her childhood friend. She wasn't sure what he had gone through in the past three months, but from what little she and the others had gathered from rumors in the net and from Doctor Hikari and Cossack, it looked bad. No kid their age should go through all that.

"By the way…" her eyes narrowed in thought and her voice gained a hint of deep musing. "I do wonder when was the last time he took a bath, or brushed his teeth…"

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* * *

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The work on understanding and finding a way to undo the symbiosis that had been forced on Netto and Forte was massive. The large room of the tree-house, which Yaito had kindly let them borrow as some sort of laboratory, was cluttered with scattered papers, post-it notes hanging from every available surface and a few machines crammed in the corners to keep them out of the way. The super computer at the end of the room was still humming gently while working endlessly on data analysis and possible outcomes of various theories.

Cossack didn't mind the workload. It was somewhat refreshing to put his brain to good use after ten years of idling and he had discovered that he had missed working with Yuichiro and to keep him from overdoing it.

But right now they were taking a pause, as ordered by Haruka, and were eating the food she had cooked all morning. She had explained to them that she had to do something special for her son and his friend after going through months of near starvation and several days of simple soup.

"Your wife's cooking is simply delicious, Yuichiro," Cossack muttered after cleaning his plate. He was not sure why, but the food made him feel rested and relaxed. "You're a lucky man."

Yuichiro's face reddened slightly and he almost choked on a spoonful of rice. "Yes, she's really good at cooking," he replied after he made sure to swallow what he had in his mouth. "Not just that, though. She's a good mother for Netto and she has an infinite patience with me when I don't go back home for weeks."

There was an amiable silence for a few seconds, with both men trying to sort their own thoughts on the latest events. Then, Cossack looked at the third plate on the table and his eyes softened upon seeing how Yuichiro's wife had carefully wrapped it with aluminum foil to keep it warm. It was the one reserved for Netto and Forte from when they came back from their daily stroll.

"How is she taking this, Yuichiro?" He asked, his green eyes locking with the brown ones of the man sitting on the opposite side of the table. "It must be hard on her. Her son come back home after all these months and she can't even talk to him."

Yuichiro sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. "It's a difficult situation," he replied, his voice filled with worry. "She knows that Netto is alright and she is sure we will find a solution, but she is worried. She says that Netto is not being himself lately, that something is troubling him. And to tell the truth, I'm starting to see it too… If Netto was fine, by this time he would be annoying Forte to do something that could entertain both of them."

"From what you told me," as he spoke, Cossack's face became serious and his eyes narrowed as he recalled every small piece of information he knew regarding Netto. "He's a boy that isn't easily troubled. At least not to the levels you think he is now."

"Something must have happened," Yuichiro resumed. "But I don't know how to talk to him directly. And Forte doesn't look like he'd be willing to speak for Netto, nor answer my questions…"

Then there was the fact that Netto wasn't back in control like they had thought he would be once the head injury had healed. It was as if the boy refused to step forwards, leaving Forte to deal with the outside world while he remained in the back. Consciously or not, however, Yuichiro had a feeling that it had to do with whatever was currently troubling him.

The man lowered his head and brought his hands to his head, almost pulling at his hair as he was not sure what was happening to him. He had always been sure of his actions, had always known what to do and when, especially when he had to help Netto. But now… that feeling of certainty was gone, leaving him with nothing but the feeling of confusion and guilt.

"I think I just found a way to talk to your son directly."

Yuichiro looked up, confusion evident on his face, and noticed that his colleague was looking to the side. More specifically, to some papers attached to a magnetic board. For a moment he did not understand what Cossack had meant, but when he took a better look at the diagrams depicted on them, he was instantly glad that Forte's creator was there.

What the two men were looking at now were the blueprints of a machine that had held the two buys prisoners within a server specifically designed to keep them from waking up or even fighting back. To get them disconnected, Blues had to log in and locate Forte. However, the red navi hadn't seen any sign of Netto.

He, Cossack and Meijin had thought that the boy hadn't been logged in, but, after reading the several logs the system kept, they were surprised to see that Netto's consciousness had not only been forced inside the server too, but had never left Forte's side.

"It has been bugging me for a while now," the older man continued, standing up and walking to the magnetic board. His hands moved to his back, holding each other while he tilted his head slightly to the left, thinking. "But only now, as I really think about it, I realize that this machine is based on an old project of mine."

Yuichiro stood up, almost pushing the chair to the floor with his fast movement, and did a mixture of surprised gasp and excited yell. "The Pulse-In Project!" he exclaimed in elation. At the time Doctor Cossack had been working on the project so that he could finally met his son face to face by letting his mind log into the net, he had been his assistant and, although he didn't know the finer details, knew enough.

"Dark Mu must have gotten their hands on some information on it. Not enough to perfect it, but enough to build this," Cossack continued as he waved his right hand at the papers on the board. "It's far from being complete, but the machine works. I don't have the blueprints of the original project anymore, but I can still perfect this."

Still not sure where to take their research on the symbiotic fusion without further information, the two scientists decided that it was time to work on this side project for a while. There was a chance that Forte would not trust them enough to take part into this little experiment, but it was all that Yuichiro and Cossack could do at the moment.

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* * *

.

Forte was not sure when he had lost his legendary aura that kept everyone away from him, nor why the red-haired female human was so intent on taking off his helmet.

"For the last time, _human_," he snarled, trying to get free from being held like a doll by Gutsman's large hands. However, because he and Netto were still recovering and he had no grasp on the modified abilities they shared, all his attempts resulted only in getting more tired. And the insistent pulling wasn't helping at all. "You _can't_ take it off!"

"Meiru-chan…" Dekao was standing next to the girl, watching in increasing worry as Forte started to spew insults towards her and humanity in general. How Netto had managed to put up with that for months was beyond his understanding. "I don't think it'll come off…"

Meiru pulled harder, gaining a loud grunt from Forte. "It'll come off," she informed him, taking a pause and grasping the black helmet better. One hand took hold of the front rim while the other grasped the bottom, near the neck. "I know it can be taken off."

Yaito, standing right next to the large boy and holding Netto's worn textbook on NetBattle strategy, was observing how things were proceeding. Like Dekao, she was unsure if the helmet could come off like Meiru had said, but she knew that once the red-haired girl decided to do something, there was very little chance of her giving up regardless of the death threats the black navi was currently throwing at her.

Not even Gutsman, the kind of guy that loved to boast about his strength, dared to go against a very determined Meiru Sakurai. That was the reason he was still holding the raging Forte down despite feeling the tremendous power brewing somewhere within the fused duo. Perhaps he wasn't as strong as Rockman or Blues, but even he was capable of recognizing what was best not to play with.

Rockman was looking apologetically at Forte whenever red eyes glared at him. He had tried several times to make Meiru desist from her current crusade against black helmets, but each time he was stopped by a glare from said girl that promised cruel revenge if only he dared to speak a single word in defense of the innocent head protection.

Which left Roll free to help her operator in trying to yank the finned helmet without detaching Netto's head from the rest of the body and causing a brutal death for the fused duo. The two boys were lucky that the symbiosis had rendered their shared body capable of enduring extreme situations without gaining a single scratch or pulled muscle.

The odd tug-of-war continued for several minutes, heedless of the navi's protests, until the helmet was finally detached with a gentle swish, revealing an interesting sight. Netto's hair was dirty blond and slicked back, save for a few strands on the front.

"See?" Meiru said as she showed the black helmet to the small audience. "I knew it would come off!"

Forte stared, his red eyes never leaving what used to be an integrated part of his body. He had always known the shape of his helmet because it was programmed into him, knew it so well that he could even reproduce it if he wanted, but it was the first time he actually saw it this way.

And he felt weird and unprotected without it.

"Fine! _Fine!_" he growled out, red eyes trying to kill Meiru with the power of sight alone. "It can be taken off. Now, give it back and let me go!"

The red-haired girl, however, had other plans. Stuffing the finned helmet under her left arm, Meiru walked in front of Forte and leaned far too close for the navi's liking. "Not so fast," she replied as she sniffed the air lingering around the fused duo and observed the mutated hair with interest. She knew little about this particular fusion, but she knew that the different coloring and style was related to it. "You two need a bath."

Choosing to ignore her wonder about Netto's new hair style, and paying no attention to Forte while he tried to get out of Gutsman's grasp, Meiru commanded the large navi to follow her through the garden with a single motion of her hand. It was an odd procession of humans and navis that headed straight towards the large bath of Yaito's mansion.

Meiru and Yaito were in front of everyone, followed by Dekao, and Gutsman, who was still holding a struggling Forte in his large hands. Behind them, Roll had managed to convince Rockman into following and actually helping them into getting the two boys clean from months of filth.

Although Forte felt outraged and humiliated, he could do nothing but be carried around like a doll until they reached the double door of the immense bathroom. Meiru stopped in front of it and turned around like a general surveying his platoon.

"Rockman, Dekao and Gutsman!" her strict voice made them tense at attention for further instructions on carrying out whatever plan she had in mind. "You will go in and make sure they get cleaned. I don't want to see them walk out of this bathroom until the scent of wild and sewer is gone."

The doors of the bathroom opened, revealing a bowing Glyde to the side. "Everything is ready," he simply informed as he moved to stand next to Yaito. While Meiru and the others had been busy removing Forte's helmet, he had been sent to prepare a hot bath. Or in this case, a hot pool filled with soapy products.

"Do you think this is right to do this?" Yaito asked as she watched the four boys disappear behind the decorated doors of the bathroom. "I know you're doing this for Netto, but what about Forte? The rumors about him… they paint him as a bad navi. One that doesn't hesitate to kill someone…"

Meiru sighed, looking down at the helmet she was holding and noticing only now that it was slowly fading away into blue digital dust. "Maybe, but they are only rumors. So far Forte hasn't attacked anyone," she replied, the finned helmet falling through her hands and exploding into small pieces of data upon hitting the ground. "I think there is more to him than that, or Netto would have never acted this way."

Yaito frowned, her hands grasping the book she was holding. "You mean… him acting as if he was Forte?"

"Yes," the taller girl replied with a nod, her own face wearing a frown of worry for her childhood friend. "Netto didn't reveal the truth as soon as he was back because he was protecting Forte, even though it meant being unable to talk to any of us and extending this forced fusion."

The blond girl opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by an outraged scream just before a loud splash coming from behind the closed doors. "Gutsman is as tactless as ever," she commented with a lighthearted sigh, gaining a small giggle from her friend.


	23. Chapter 23

Despite the rough handling by Gutsman, the warm bath had finally gotten rid of the soreness that had been plaguing Forte and Netto for days. Even the gash on the leg, now nothing more than a light cut, had stopped itching. All it needed now was to be wrapped with clean bandages.

There was only one problem that prevented Forte from tending to the injury, and that was the bizarre maze of corridors and rooms located in the left wing of the Ayanokouji's mansion. 'Bizarre' because from the outside, the place didn't look as large as it actually was inside, and Forte was pretty sure he could hear humming coming from the walls.

Having already visited the left wing in the past, Netto had provided some useful information on the place, but it never went past the 'dangerous place with traps' and was unable to explain how they had gotten lost in there.

Forte was glad to have successfully escaped the clutches of a bunch of kids that apparently did not know the meaning of 'leave me alone,' especially since it gave him time to figure out how to rebuild his helmet. Still, the minor setback of not knowing where he was and where he was going made his mood increasingly sour.

It was a complete contrast to Netto's absent, almost catatonic state, making Forte wish there was an easier way to confront the kid and punch some needed sense into him than falling asleep and hoping that their dreams met.

Instead, the fist that Forte wished so much to slam against the nose of his companion connected with the wall at his left with such violence that the surface cracked. "Why am I even bothering with you? Why am I compelled so much to… face you about this?"

Those were two of the many questions that Forte had been asking himself since those memories had come back and Netto's mood had taken a turn for the worse. And despite having troubles believing how much involved in the matter he felt, he knew that he would never feel at peace until things were back to normal.

As much normal as a human and navi hybrid could be…

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden hiss and before he even realized what was happening, his fighting instinct took over and he jumped backwards, away from the danger. Forte didn't have to worry, though, because the danger was nothing but a trap composed by a large axe swinging left and right from the ceiling.

It was a slow and motion, hypnotizing in its rhythmic swinging and gentle hiss of cut air. Forte followed the blunt blade, mesmerized at how the large thing was designed to first hurt and incapacitate and then to block the way.

But the trap was designed with a human mind for humans and it would never take a navi by surprise, nor stop him or her from advancing. All they had to do was to just blow the obstacle away and go on with their business. Yet, Forte could not take his eyes away from that weird trap and the monotony that it expressed.

And he suddenly felt bored and annoyed by it. The hate and anger rose in him like a bubble in the water and he couldn't stop his arm from extending to easily grab the axe when it was in a vertical position. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt that way all of a sudden, nor why images of his life in the Undernet came to the front of his mind, but he did realize how much he had been running into an endless circle without seeing an exit.

That realization had came so suddenly that Forte felt dazed and had to fasten his hand onto the edge of the blunt blade he was holding onto to keep a steady stance. His free hand slowly went to cover his face and he closed his eyes, feeling nauseated by the simple memory of those ten years of never wanting to understand why his creator had never helped him.

He was not tired. He would never be tired or lose the will to live, but he was weary. For once, all he wanted to do was lie down and not be worried about random people, be them navis or humans, trying to kill him on sight. It was ironic how he had found some peace with a kid belonging to the race he hated so much.

Forte parted his fingers so that he could see at the faint reflection on the gray surface of the large axe. Despite the long period of being fused with Netto, it was still somewhat weird to watch a reflection that was not entirely his.

"When do you plan to face reality?"

When no reply came, Forte instantly knew that the kid was falling into the same cycle he had gone through. First he would refuse facing reality and seek answers. Then he would start to hate those that had hurt him. In the end Netto would hate everyone and do nothing but plot their destruction.

Forte could barely admit it to himself, but Netto deserved something better than having his life screwed up by a bunch of heartless humans.

The navi gave a deep sigh, wondering when he had started to be so soft-hearted. All he could recall was that in the beginning he had hated Netto with all his being, then, somewhere along their journey together, he had forgotten his hate and now he couldn't find it again. And he found himself liking this lack of negative emotions that had weighted on his frame for years.

He tightened his hold onto the axe and the pressure produced spider web-like cracks, breaking the reflection that was staring back at him into dozens of smaller ones. Forte shivered at that, feeling as if the reflection was Netto's personality that was slowly crumbling under all the stress of the last months.

When the blade started to crumble and fall to the ground in pieces, Forte backed away and observed the debris with a frown for a second before turning and walking away. The axe was just a mere tool, unworthy of anymore attention than what it already had gotten, but all the thoughts, the memories and the emotions remained, urging him to find a solution.

.

* * *

.

The center zone of the Ameroppean continent was known for its large tropical forest and rich ecosystem. It was common knowledge that humanity still had to discover all the animal and vegetal life forms that lived there, and it was in this place that a lone human with vast knowledge had discovered something that everyone would give a limb or two to find.

Located several hundred meters under the forest's surface, hidden deep into the maze of immense tunnels and caverns, the legendary continent of Mu laid dormant.

With its many towers, however, the continent wasn't exactly a large island in the middle of an underground sea. Instead, it was an immense city entirely made with a black metal that was stronger than anything humans had ever created in their history.

It was in this forgotten place that Dark Mu had built its base. From there, thanks to several miles of cables and hidden parabolic antennas on the surface, the organization controlled the entire network without being discovered and easily dispatched its members to do the dirty work.

On top of the tallest and largest tower, Paladin observed the darkness that ruled within the gigantic cavern, too strong to be defeated by the small dots of yellow and white light that humans had used to illuminate the paths and zones that were frequently used. He didn't like the pitch black, too suffocating for his own liking, yet the navi couldn't help but stare at it with fascination and a small amount of longing.

"Here again, brother?"

Shaken out of his thoughts by the sudden appearance of Ninja at his back, Paladin turned around and glared at his younger sibling. "Will you stop doing that? One of these days you're going to create several bugs in my programming!"

The black navi's eyes shone with amusement for a second, then the mood instantly turned serious once again. "Still thinking about that?" he asked. He knew his brother far too well and was able to read him like an open book. "That's going to cause only troubles for you."

Paladin frowned, grunted under his breath and returned to stare at the darkness. "I thought that you didn't care about it," he replied after a while. "That it wasn't your problem."

"It became my problem when you started thinking this way," Ninja's voice was soft, but his words were firm and so quick to the point that the white navi felt as if he had been stabbed in the back. "Your thoughts are dangerous, brother. Stop them before they will lead you to your deletion."

The silence hung between them for several long seconds until Paladin sat down. Navis didn't necessarily need to sit down, but he had discovered that he liked it and it made thinking strangely easier to do. "You don't understand," he said when his running thoughts finally halted for a moment. "And I don't either. It's something that goes beyond my own programming. It's…"

There he stopped and wildly gesticulated to the air, unable to find the right word to describe what he felt. "It just is. It's there, I've seen it, felt it and for a single moment I understood it. Now it's gone, but it didn't leave without leaving this… feeling."

Maybe he was corrupted and his programming was decaying, but when he looked down at his hands, the feeling only strengthened and it brought a whirlwind of emotions that only confused him further. It made him feel like he was clinging to a small piece of wood in the middle of a raging ocean and losing the fight.

Ninja crossed his arms and waited in silence until he felt that his confused brother was ready to listen once again. "The Emperor has new orders," he said watching as his words made the other's shoulders slightly tense. "We're going out. Just the two of us so that the lesser ranked members can't screw up the mission."

The white navi stood up and walked towards the opening in the floor that would bring him to the lower floors of the tower. "What are his orders, this time? Capture the kid again?"

Briefly shaking his head, Ninja followed his brother down the short stairway. "Not this time. This is something really delicate that he wants none but us to take care of it. He has commanded us to meet with him as soon as possible."

That Osamu Michiro, leader of Dark Mu and self proclaimed Emperor, would trust only his two navis with something delicate was obvious, but Paladin still wondered what it was to force them off Netto and Forte's back for it. Still, orders were orders and the two quickly walked through the corridors and down several flights of stairs to reach their leader's office.

The room that Osamu used to control the more technical part of his activity was large and the walls were decorated with scenes of a world that was never seen before. Lined along the left and right wall, four legless statues hung on their support in a way that it almost felt as if they were ready to attack at any given command.

Watched by their silent gaze, Osamu sat at the desk located towards the end of the room. He was reading some papers with the aid of a desk lamp and for long minutes he didn't bother acknowledging the two navis' presence. When he was done assimilating the latest information, he looked up at them with his sharp black eyes shielded by small round glasses.

Having lived almost his entire life in Choina, the man had taken to dress in a long dark blue tunic. On top of it he always wore another one that was black with small white speckles. His hair, which was black with a few gray strands, was collected in a low ponytail that reached past his shoulders.

"You're here," he said, his calm and clear voice cutting the air in a way that made Paladin cringe inwardly. He motioned for the two to walk closer and pointed down at a figure on the paper he had just finished reading. "Bring this to me."

Paladin felt surprised at how a large ball of data was considered more important than regaining possession of Netto and Forte.

.

* * *

.

By the time Forte finally found a way out of the left wing without blowing something up, the day was coming to an end. Already the sun was going down, coloring the clouds in the sky with a myriad of oranges and reds, rendering the scenery more of a painting than a real life situation.

Still not having understood the new system that controlled his powers, the navi was now sitting on a bench and looking up at the canopy of a nearby tree. The leaves were large and green, but some were starting to turn yellow, indicating that autumn was close to beginning. Even the temperature of the day was lower than the one he remembered.

Those were the first real signs of the time that had passed since that summer night in the middle of a wood in Amerope. Both Forte and Netto had eventually stopped counting the days, too busy surviving to pay attention to a menial thing like time, but the navi was sure that they had been fused together for about two months and something now. He was so caught up in his thoughts about how the short time he had spent with Netto had changed him that he didn't notice he was being observed until the watcher decided it was time to make his presence known.

Despite having solved the terrible misunderstanding during their previous meeting, Doctor Cossack couldn't help but feel awkward in presence of his son. His love for Forte was strong, he would never deny that, yet he was still scared that the navi would refuse any further contact and disappear once again when he was freed from the symbiosis with Netto. It was something that the aged man could not bear to witness again.

"Forte," Cossack said, coming to a stop near the bench. He had been looking for the navi, but now that he had found him, all the things he had to say died in his throat. The doctor knew that silence would never lead to a solution to their current situation, so he took another step towards his son and smiled despite feeling awkward.

Red eyes were instantly on him, wary but not hostile, and the aged man felt a bit more at ease. "I've heard that you got dunked into a pool of water," he said after a while, trying to break the unnerving silence. "Something about… stinking of sewer…"

Forte scoffed and crossed his arms, seemingly sinking into his cloak with his head. "It was unnecessary," he replied quickly, still miffed to have been treated more like a dirty rag than a person. "And annoying."

Doctor Cossack chuckled at the slight pout that his son was wearing. "Perhaps," he conceded, sitting on the other end of the bench were Forte was. "But I'm sure everyone will be glad that you got rid of that bad smell."

Not in the mood to partake in an idle chat, Forte did not reply and stared up at the first stars that appeared in the sky. It was nothing special to him, just speckles of light to indicate the position of distant suns. Yet he couldn't help but watch them, transfixed by their feeble pulsation in the approaching darkness.

"Forte," Cossack's voice was soft, but it did gain the navi's attention even if he didn't take his eyes away from the sky. The man knew that idle chat would never work with his son. "I'm not putting Netto above you, but Yuichiro needs to talk with him."

Forte hummed to himself, somehow finding himself understanding the urgency that doctor Hikari had. Normally he wouldn't care about this kind of stuff, but life was never set in stone and he found out that his normality had been turned upside down.

However, the problem of making Netto listen remained. The kid was slowly, but steadily, falling deeper into his catatonic state of mind without having the strength or the will to fight it.

Guessing Forte's perplexity on the issue, Cossack leaned backwards onto the bench and looked down at his lab-coat stained with marker streaks and coffee spots. "Do you remember a project called Pulse-In?" he asked, smiling. It had been two days of intense work and he, Yuichiro and Meijin had barely gotten any sleep, but they were all pleased to see the result of their efforts.

The navi frowned, concentrating to remember what little he knew about that project. "It was something you were working on years ago, why?"

The doctor nodded approvingly, happy that his son could remember something that old. "I never told you what it was about, Forte," he said, looking up at the stars. "The basic idea behind it was for me to enter the network with my mind and the use of an avatar to meet you in first person, and not through a screen."

Forte turned his gaze onto the man at his side, mildly shocked at the revelation. He watched his creator's profile in the dimming light and noticed how he was looking upwards with a sincere smile. After a few more seconds of staring, the navi blinked and looked up too, reordering his ideas.

He was not sure how the Pulse-In machine would work, but if what doctor Cossack had said, then it could let a human walk the network. And he knew it would work because Dark Mu's scientists had done it before. In a certain way, he and Netto would be able to become two separate entities and the kid would finally have to face reality.

With the solution to his problem, Forte stood up and grinned widely in victory. "I'm in."

.

* * *

.

**A/N:** Disclaimer at the end of the chapter because it's better this way.

Anyway, short chapter, but I decided to end it here because it was a good place to end it (and end my suffering along with it).

Anyway, I do not own Rockman and related stuff. That's Capcom's. I do own Paladin, Ninja and Osamu Michiro and the ideas within this fic.

**Also, check out my profile for the link to the archive and see drawn reference of Paladin, Ninja and Osamu done by awesome artists!**


	24. Chapter 24

Netto had already visited the cyberworld thanks to Dark Mu's goons and devices, although it was a simple reproduction of it. He had felt the differences as soon as he entered it. Unlike within the faux Undernet Desert, the environment felt alive with an undercurrent of energy that permeated everything. He lifted his hands up and flexed them experimentally, feeling Forte's powers laying dormant right under his skin, ready to be called forth, making him feel alive.

No wonder Forte was so power-hungry…

He brought one hand to his face and closed his eyes, recalling the past few days and those memories that would not leave him alone. He hated them and felt sickened at remembering how he felt during those moments. He had several close calls with death in the past where adrenaline would make his heart feel like it was exploding, but nothing he had gone through could be compared to the feel of oblivion slowly approaching at the edges of his consciousness.

Feeling dizzy and shaky, Netto stumbled backwards until he landed against something that broke his fall to the ground. A hand grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from moving away and as he turned around to see who it was, he came face to face with a pair of red eyes that were trying to burn a hole in his face.

"When will you stop letting _that_ bother you?"

To say that Forte was annoyed was saying very little. The navi, as much as he was trying to hide it, didn't know if he was ready to kill Netto or yell insult after insult until the kid reacted in any way possible.

But that feeling didn't last long, and Forte felt tired.

Netto was shaking, torn between anguish and elation. And very close to breaking.

"I know what's going through your head right now," the navi continued, his eyes narrowing to tiny slits. "I've gone through it myself years ago. So, don't even think of walking that path. I _will not_ let you."

Without waiting for a reply, Forte released his hold onto Netto's shoulder and watched him take a step back to regard him with confused eyes. "I'll be around," he whispered, knowing that that was all he could do and say at the moment. As much as he hated it, he would leave the rest up to Rockman and his little band of jolly friends. If they failed, he would rain hell upon their heads.

The navi stood there, watching the kid that had become more than just a mere acquaintance until he heard the approaching voices of Rockman and the others. They were excited to see their friend that had been missing for so long, but were also worried about his recent strange behavior.

Normally, Forte would have left, preferring the quiet of a dark and lonely place. But the situation he was in had stopped being normal what felt like long ago, so all he did was observe Netto's reaction to the approaching navis.

The reaction the boy had upon hearing the voices of his friends was unlike anything from him. Instead of smiling and loudly calling to them, he froze up. He was so tense that if someone poked him, he would surely lash out in self defense without thinking or even realizing that none ever meant to harm him.

And then Rockman was there, so close to the two that he could touch them if he stretched one arm. The other navis remained behind, respecting his decision to talk with his operator alone and waiting their turn to greet their returned friend.

Forte found that he wasn't happy with the proximity, but forced himself to accept it and when their eyes met, the black navi was very glad to glare all his hostility towards his strongest rival. For several long seconds the two stood there, their own determined ideas clashing in a silent battle of stares, until Forte gave a very small nod acceptance.

However, Rockman knew that the black navi's tolerance was really limited and it was with that knowledge that he turned his attention to his operator, having realized how much he had changed in the last few months. No more happy and expansive, or facing a situation with his fiery will. Now all Netto was doing was shying away from him and giving off an aura of tension so strong that even Forte was being affected.

The blue navi raised a hand to touch his operator on the shoulder, but stopped when Netto tensed even more. "Netto-kun..?" he asked in a soft voice, afraid that any louder and the boy would shatter. "Netto-kun. It's me, Rockman."

Netto slightly turned his head and his right brown eye met with Rockman's green ones. It was a brief moment, though, and all the blue navi felt from that contact was something that left him speechless. He wanted so much to ask what had happened, to understand the reason why the person standing in front of him was nothing but a shell of his operator, but was stopped short by a low growl from Forte.

The three were now in a standstill. No one spoke or moved.

Forte was keeping a close eye on Rockman, wanting to make sure that the blue navi would not ask something that would make things worse than they already were. Netto, although having missed his friends and family, was ready to run as far away as he could from everyone and everything while Rockman was seriously thinking of ignoring Forte's unspoken threat to ask his operator what was wrong.

With stress finally taking a toll on his psyche, Netto started to take a few steps backwards, away from Rockman and the others. He needed time to think, to be alone, and at the moment he felt that company would only make him sick. Already his head was spinning and he could see small dots swimming in front of him, appearing and disappearing in small explosions that made things worse for his already distressed mind.

Before anyone could say or do something, Netto shook his head and raised his hands up into the air, collected as much energy as he could and quickly smashed it at the ground with a scream. Forte and Rockman had no problem in jumping away to avoid damage, but the blast had been powerful enough to raise a lot of blue dust that covered everything in the immediate vicinity.

When the visibility returned enough for everyone to see, Rockman looked where Netto had been standing just moments before. There was a nice crater on the ground and debris everywhere, but no sign of a mentally unstable boy.

"Damn it, kid," Forte muttered to himself, choosing to ignore if Rockman, standing almost next to him, could hear his words. "Running away won't help you."

The blue navi stared at the empty spot, unable to understand why Netto had acted that way. After a moment, however, he turned around to look at Forte with a mix of confusion, anger and bewilderment. "What happened?"

When the other navi didn't reply, Rockman narrowed his eyes and tensed, ready to tackle Forte to the ground and punch him until he said something. "Forte," he said, trying to keep calm. Getting angry wouldn't solve anything. "What happened to Netto-kun?"

Red eyes met green, and the two stared at each other for what seemed like a long time. Then, uttering a low murmur, Forte turned to look at the spot Netto had previously occupied. "I will not say," he stated neutrally. "It's not my right to say. You will have to ask the kid yourself."

Perhaps keeping the whole truth a secret was a bad thing, but after going through so much with Netto, Forte was not ready to get hated by, he had to admit it at this point, his only friend.

"You, however," the black navi resumed after a few seconds of silence, watching Rockman's friends walking towards them to hear what was going on. "Might want to find him before it's too late. As his navi, you should know well how much he attracts trouble."

Without further words, Forte walked away. He and Rockman might have to find the same person, but he wasn't in the mood to walk around with him and the others that were obviously going to follow. He would find Netto on his own, and perhaps try to talk some sense into him.

He just hoped that the kid was less of a mess than he had appeared to be.

Outside the network, Yuichiro was sitting at the table, staring at the large monitor in front of him and momentarily unable to process what had just happened. He remembered seeing Forte and, for a glimpse of a second, another figure that resembled him. The man was sure that the other figure was Netto, but before he could do anything, something blew up and only one black navi remained.

"What did I do wrong?" he asked to the air, watching as Meijin furiously typed at the console trying to track Netto trough the mansion's network. He knew the young man to be good at the task, but for some reasons, he had troubles following his son. "Is this a punishment for me not being a good father?"

Just when his hopes had been high and he had been the happiest since Netto's going missing, Yuichiro Hikari felt that the recent development of his son disappearing again was like a huge slap to his face. He felt tired, hurt, dispirited and humiliated. His wife would never forgive him if he didn't bring Netto back.

Meijin cast a quick glance at Cossack sitting next to him and trying to help in the tracking. "What about forcefully disconnecting them from the Pulse-In system?" he asked, hopeful that it would be the solution to their problem.

The older man shook his head, his hands pausing when his latest tracking method failed. "It's a possibility, yes," he replied with a frown on his face. "But it's dangerous as the brain could suffer damage. Although with Forte's healing ability, theoretically any damage could be healed. I'd rather avoid doing that unless it's extremely necessary."

When another tracking program came up empty-handed, Meijin gave a sigh and gave up. He had tried everything he knew of and even a couple of new methods. He had even searched through the immediate area outside the Ayanokouji's local network, but every search had failed. It was as if Netto just didn't want to be found, which probably was true.

"He might already be far from here," he said, turning to the other two men in the room. "Sending a search party seems to be the only way to find him."

Yuichiro gave a nod of understanding before turning his attention to the large monitor at the end of the room. "Rockman," he called, knowing that it was not the time for self-blame. "Find Netto and convince him to come back."

As Rockman and Yuichiro decided on where to start to look for Netto, Cossack turned to look at a smaller computer sitting next to the main console. His relationship with Forte was still rocky, but if wanted to figure out what was keeping him and Netto stuck together like that he needed to do a deep scan of his son's core program.

With a quick press of a few keys, the monitor blinked twice: the first time to hide the file with several codes pertaining Cross Fusion, and the second to open a video link with Forte. Cossack knew that the black navi didn't have any communication program in him like the others, but the local network still permitted him to open communications anywhere within it.

When the image on the monitor finally showed Forte, the doctor coughed to grab his attention. Red eyes turned away from whatever the navi was looking at and looked up with a mix of curiosity and wariness. "Forte," he called, voice serious but not hostile. "After all that happened to you, I'm sure you won't like this. But I need to ask you anyway. Will you let me check your core program?"

The navi's eyes narrowed and a light frown appeared on his mouth. His creator was right in saying that he would not like to have his core program be scanned that deeply. Not even if it was the same man that had created him. "I suppose it is necessary," he eventually replied, slightly disgruntled. "No other way to discover what is keeping us merged. Unless we find the original project..."

Cossack raised an eyebrow at the 'we' Forte had used, but refrained from saying anything about it. The fact that his son had finally found someone that he could call a friend made him happier than he had been when he made peace with him.

"The scan I have in mind won't affect your ability to move in the cyberworld," he informed, glancing at a small paper next to the monitor and guessing that Forte was thinking of going out in search of Netto. "But be careful when you leave the local network. There shouldn't be any problems, but the distance from your real body could cause some... trouble. What kind of trouble, though, I'm afraid I don't know. Maybe a loss of power, or even lag."

That meant that, probably, Netto was already suffering from one or more symptoms because of said distance, and Forte knew that the boy was pretty far away by now. He wouldn't be surprised if he had to track him down through the Undernet. "Alright. I'll leave everything up to your care… Doctor."

Cossack's eyes slightly widened in surprise at finally seeing Forte starting to trust him once again, even if it was because he was forced by circumstances. "I'll find out what's going on," he promised with a solemn nod. "How should I contact you when you're out on the net?"

Forte paused, blinking in surprise at how such a small detail could be so troublesome. Despite being a navi that could very well take care of himself in any situation, there was the fact that now he wasn't on his own. There were people that were doing stuff for him that he could not take care of by himself, and communication was important.

"You can tell me," Rockman's voice attracted the two's attention. He had heard the whole conversation, albeit unintentionally, and had decided what the best course of action was. "And I'll tell Forte."

Red and green eyes met once again, and Forte had to concede to Rockman's fierce determination into helping in any way possible. There was no rivalry, no hostility, nor the blue navi was trying to blame him for whatever Netto was going through. All that he wanted was to bring his operator back home safe and sound.

"Fine," he said with a small nod. He tried to be neutral, but a small amount of hostility still managed to find its way to his voice. The idea of letting anyone deal with Netto and his current mood was making him nervous, dissatisfied and quick to anger. Giving one last sharp glare to Rockman to make sure he understood that it was best for him to not get in his way, Forte turned around and walked towards the linkpad located at the end of the platform. He didn't exactly know where the boy had run off, but a feeling was telling him where to go.

Rockman stared at Forte's cloaked back in a bit of anger and jealousy, almost feeling like the black navi was taking Netto all for himself. He couldn't really blame him, though. After all he went through and with that heavy obsessive streak in his personality, it was only natural that Forte was reacting that way to anyone that tried to approach his only friend.

Because that's what Forte and Netto were: friends born from the weirdest and most dangerous adventure.

"Forgive him if you can, Rockman," Cossack said, watching his son disappear through the link to the outside network. "He was never good at social interaction. I don't think he knows that you can have more than one friend at a time."

Rockman nodded, sighing to let his negative emotions dissipate away. "I know. It's just..." he paused and gave a small nervous chuckle. "I feel as if we're competing over Netto-kun and he doesn't want to lose."

The Doctor blinked in surprise, then gave a sheepish smile. "That might be my fault. I created him to be competitive so he could become better." He then became serious and looked intensely at the blue navi. "But that's something we'll have to work though in a later moment. If Forte takes Netto's run off so seriously to accept help from us, then it is a serious thing."

After clenching and unclenching his fists a few times, Rockman nodded. "You are right," he said as he gave a smile to thank the Doctor for his words. "We have to find Netto-kun before anything happens."

Determined to find his operator, the blue navi walked towards the same linkpad Forte had used and disappeared through it. He would remind Netto that he wasn't alone and that he could count on everyone's help to solve whatever problem was assailing him.

.

* * *

.

Sitting at his desk for hours on end was something that Enzan was used to but that was slowly getting on his nerves. It couldn't be helped, though, for the information that he and Blues had collected through SciLabs' network expanded into six sheets of paper written front and back.

The stolen information was a lot, and although he had his good suspicion on who had done this, the traces left around weren't enough to point at said person. Being an official, he couldn't abuse his powers and arrest the culprit without solid proof.

"There is so much that it's almost as if they wanted to copy the whole server," the boy commented idly as he typed something on the computer. "Projects, researches, data on the network and security... Blues, have you informed SciLabs that they have to change the firewall?"

A small window appeared in the upper left corner with Blues in it. "Yes, Enzan-sama," he replied with a small nod. "They have increased the security and a complete substitution of the firewall should take from three to five hours."

Enzan nodded, knowing that what they had done was all they could do until the enemy attacked. "Alright."

The two then spent the next hour working on what they had, discussing on why Dark Mu wanted that particular information and how it could use it at its own advantage. Most of the stolen stuff regarded Cross Fusion, Dimensional Areas and the synchronization between a human and a navi, but there were also projects on new sources of energy and technological prototypes to improve human's lives.

What they didn't understand, though, was what this Alpha was supposed to be. There were no records in neither the archives of SciLabs or NetPolice. "It's like they wanted to forget about it," Enzan said, propping his head up with his left hand while the right one drummed the fingers against the desk. "It could be nothing to worry about, but... Blues, do you feel exactly as I do regarding this?"

Blues was quick to nod. "I believe it is time to pay a visit to Doctor Hikari," he replied, remembering that he and Enzan had previously agreed on eventually discussing this Alpha with Yuichiro. "Should I go ahead and inform them of your visit?"

Enzan leaned against the back of the chair and stretched. Used or not, it was always nice to move after a long period of sitting in the same position. "Yes, please," he said. His eyes wandered to the window and the city beyond it, and he wondered how his friend was doing. Last he had heard, Netto had refused any contact and had left Forte in control. Sometimes, he and Blues wondered how a single kid could be the center of so much chaos for so many people. "And make sure Netto is not walking into any sort of trouble."

Blues nodded, and with a quick 'Enzan-sama' disappeared from the computer's monitor to access the local area and then the internet. Left alone, Enzan transferred the files he was working from the computer to his PET and collected the scattered papers, folding and pocketing them.

Now that he had everything he needed with him, the boy left the office, directed towards the nearest elevator. By car, the Ayanokouji's mansion wasn't too far away from the NetPolice headquarters, but with Netto involved, he knew that anything could happen in the span of a couple of minutes. Enzan knew that he was probably jinxing it, but his gut feeling was just too strong.

That premonition turned out to be true as soon as the boy set foot inside the car that had been waiting for him outside the main doors of the building. His PET gave off a particular chime that he had associated only for calls coming from Blues, and when he took it out and opened a video link with his navi, his gut feeling did a flip.

Despite the glasses and almost integral helmet, the frown on Blues mouth easily told Enzan that there was something very wrong with how things were supposed to go. "Enzan-sama," the navi's voice was somewhat strained, which was an unusual thing for him. "I was traveling through the city zone when I crossed paths with Hikari Netto."

Even if the runaway had been looking exactly like Forte, even if he had seen him only for a brief moment before the boy changed directions and disappeared around a corner, Blues was sure of what he had seen. Everyone that knew enough of the black navi also knew that he would never walk in a crowded area like the cybercity.

Enzan had heard of Doctor Hikari and Doctor Cossack to use an old idea to permit Forte and Netto to have separate bodies within the network and that the latter was behaving differently than usual, but he had never thought that Netto was so distraught to run away.

Enzan was extremely sure that Netto would never disappear like that as soon as he saw someone he knew. "Blues, go after him," he then paused, humming to himself for a couple of seconds. "Mind, though, that given the current situation, he might be thinking differently than usual. He's avoiding us and probably wandering aimlessly."

With his directions given, Blues closed the video link with his operator, leaving Enzan to tell the driver of the limo to take him to the Ayanokouji's mansion as fast as he was permitted by street rules. Fifteen minutes later, he was running through the large garden towards the tree house. No one was around to stop him, not even Netto's particularly curious and meddling friends.

After making a quick work of ascending the stairs of the tree house, the boy opened the entrance door and came face to face with three bustling doctors who didn't notice his presence at first. Only after colliding with Meijin did the trio briefly stopped to greet him.

Once everyone had resumed some semblance of calmness, Enzan walked up to the large computer and connected his PET to it so that he could have a direct communication with his navi and send him battle chips if needed. "Have you any idea where he might have gone?"

Before Yuichiro could reply and blame his poor fatherhood for the recent events, Cossack vaguely motioned the small computer he was sitting in front of. "Nothing we have tried seems to be able to track him, but Forte seems to know exactly where to go. While he's looking for him, we're doing a deep scan of his Core Program to see what we can find."

After a period of stagnation, things were finally starting to move again and everyone looked revitalized by it. He hadn't seen Netto's friends, but Enzan bet on them being in front of some computers, determined to find the runaway and bring him back to his senses.

Finally realizing something strange, Meijin looked up at Enzan with a raised eyebrow. "How do you know that Netto ran away?"

The boy took out the papers from his pocket and unfolded them. "Blues saw him in Internet City," he replied as he looked at the written material. Realizing that they were upside down, he rolled them so that they were correctly orientated. "It was a brief encounter, but he was sure it was Netto. Now he's tracking him down."

Although Blues was good at finding fugitives, the fact that he hadn't heard from his navi made Enzan believe that he was having troubles in locating Netto. The idea of asking two of the best trackers of the world formed, but he didn't want to bother Laika and Searchman yet. And if Forte knew where to go, maybe there wasn't even the need to contact the Sharo military to ask for their help.

"I'm afraid that Netto's newest disappearance is not the main reason I'm here, though," he continued as he handed he papers to Meijin. "This is all the data that was stolen from SciLabs. Mostly stuff we already suspected to have been stolen, but there is one thing that I can't find information on, and I think it's really important. What is an Alpha?"

Out of the three Doctors, Meijin was the only one to not abruptly turn towards him and freeze in their movement. The young man looked up from the papers, turned his gaze between Enzan, Yuichiro and Cossack and felt like the temperature in the room had suddenly lost a couple of degrees.

"I never thought I would hear that name again after so many years..." Doctor Cossack murmured, his face paling. "The cause of all my and Forte's problems..."

Yuichiro nodded and turned away from the console, knowing that Rockman could take care of things on his own for a while. "Alpha," he started, biting his lip and mentally cursing the resurface of that name. He had hoped to never hear of it again. "It was created to administer the growing network so that it could run smoothly and there could be more control on it. Unfortunately, it became heavily bugged, gained some level of intelligence and merged with the network, becoming the internet itself. Luckily for us, the entire network was too large to assimilate smoothly and Alpha slowed down enough for us to seal it."

"But not before some damage was done," Meijin was quick on putting the puzzle together. "Its bugs were blamed on Forte and Doctor Cossack and the whole network had to be taken down, leaving the entire country without internet for months."

"That's right, Meijin," Yuichiro said looking at his colleague with worried eyes. "And if Dark Mu get its hands on Alpha... We should inform everyone..."

Cossack took a deep breath and turned back to the small computer to press a few keys. His hands were shaky as he opened a video link with Netto's navi, and his voice almost broke from the stress. He had witnessed what Alpha could do, had his life ruined for ten years because of it, and it scared him that the hungry beast was the target of an evil organization that probably didn't know what it was dealing with.

Forte had to be informed of this.

.

* * *

.

He had been wandering for a while now, maybe hours, but his memories of it were sketchy at best. He could remember being with Forte and Rockman, that he couldn't take it anymore and that he had ran away. He could even remember briefly meeting Blues on the street, but between those moments it was as if he hadn't been there at all.

And now he was standing at the rocky edge overlooking the vast Undernet Desert.

Netto gave a deep sigh and sat down to stare at the distance with blank eyes while his legs dangled down the precipice. The place was lonely and depressing, but it gave him time to himself and a breather from the suffocating feeling he lately had whenever his friends were close. Forte was different, though, and his presence was accepted. Maybe it was because the black navi already knew and didn't need to ask any unwanted questions.

Speaking of which...

Said black navi chose that moment to sit next to him and stare at the same sandy distance. "It's monotone, isn't it?"

"Does it even matter?" Netto asked in reply, not bothering to look at his friend. "It's just a place."

The two remained in silence for a while, watching the occasional burst of wind sweep the sand into the air. There were other rock formations in the distance, tall against the black sky. No one knew who had created it, or why, but everyone knew that the desert had always been there, perhaps even years before its discovery, making it a perfect place for outlaws to dwell.

"I didn't know you were the type to run away like that," Forte said, knowing Netto would prefer the blunt approach, no matter the consequences. "I thought you were more of a... fighter."

The boy remained silent for several seconds before he gave a half halfhearted shrug. "They will ask. They always ask... and I don't want to deal with the questions," he looked down at his hands with spent eyes. He couldn't remember anymore how his real hands looked like. "It's annoying."

Forte hummed, somewhat glad that Netto was at least showing to be annoyed by something. It was a small improvement from the apathy he had been showing until he was forced back in control of his own body, even if the current one was a mere replica of it. He secretly thanked Doctor Cossack for having the idea to use the Pulse-In system to temporarily separate them.

"They are annoying, yes," the navi agreed. "After months spent alone in the wild, you'd think they would just greet you back and throw a party, but all they do is ask where you were, what you did and why you disappeared..."

There was another long silence and both didn't bother to break it. The Undernet Desert suddenly became less lonely and more of a real desert, with little life and no water at all. Their friendship was just as Netto remembered it to be. Quiet, but supportive in the needed moments. Completely different from the one he had with Rockman.

"I miss them..."

Forte raised an eyebrow when Netto fell on his back and looked up at the black sky, his cloak covering part of his face. "Then go back?" he asked, hoping that this was the turning point for the boy to go back to his usual self, or at least close to it.

"I told you," Netto rolled on his side, giving Forte his back, and started to fiddle with a small rock he found near his nose. "They'll keep asking no matter what I say. And I don't want to... remember."

The navi's frustration almost made him kick Netto down the cliff. Instead he growled under his breath and grabbed at the knotted scarf, pulling at it until they were both standing and Forte had an arm around Netto's neck. "That's it!" he growled, warding off a flying arm. Because of the distance from their real body, none were able to use their powers, making the struggle more of a kids' brawl.

Still, it was never wise to underestimate Netto, and it showed when the boy slipped a foot around one of Forte's legs and pulled, effectively tripping him and sending both of them to the ground on their backs.

"Look," Forte said after recovering from the unexpected impact. Despite it, he had managed to keep his arm around the other's neck. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You decide."

"You can try all you want," Netto replied, rolling onto his stomach and feeling the navi's weight on top of him, pinning him down. By using the combined strength of his legs and arms, however, the boy was able to first crouch and then stand back up on his feet. "I don't want to deal with it! You should know why!"

Forte perfectly knew why Netto was refusing to go back. He had gone through the same thing, felt the same will to never go back, and now he knew that it was the wrong thing to do. "You need to face it!" he growled, almost slipping when the boy struggled to walk forwards. "Running away will not help you!"

"I don't need to be helped!" Netto was starting to be desperate and it showed in his movements when he started to try to pull his head out of the lock, causing himself and Forte a slight degree of pain. "I just want to forget! I'm tired of closing my eyes and reliving that moment!"

"I never said that you should relive it every time," Forte replied as calmly as he could while trying to keep his arm locked around Netto's neck. It was proving to be a difficult task because the boy's desperation gave him more strength to use. "But you either face it or you'll end up like me. Is that what you want?"

The only reply Forte got out of Netto was that he bent forward to try and flip him off his back. It would have been a successful maneuver if the navi didn't loop his legs around the kid's waist to stop himself from slipping off. The clinging weight that he had become, however, made Netto lose his balance and stumble forwards several feet before he could regain some semblance of stability.

There was another long moment of silence between the two, both knowing that the other would not give up in their quest to show how things should be taken care of. They remained there, unmoving like statues and with the wind blowing their cloaks around. If someone saw them they would probably think that the two were playing piggyback and had briefly stopped to regain their strength or decide where to go, but at a closer look, the two pair of eyes would reveal the anger and frustration that were ready to explode.

Netto's eyes narrowed and his mouth went downward in a frown. "Forte," his voice had a heavy tone of warning. "Let me go."

"So you can run off again?" The navi replied, strengthening his hold onto the boy. If he let go, he knew that it would take a long time before he found him again. "No."

That said, however, Forte couldn't believe how differently he was behaving at the moment. Normally he would just punch Netto and drag him back forcefully, or even knock him unconscious. Instead there he was, clinging onto his back like a child clinging to its favorite plush. He just hoped no one was seeing this event or his reputation would be forever ruined. Clinging onto Netto that way was already embarrassing on its own.

"Damn it, you rebellious idiot!" Forte's frustration was starting to take over him, making him harsher with his words. "Just let it go, it'll make things easier!"

Netto started to walk towards the cliff. After adjusting to the added weight, it was easy to move around. "If you're worried that I won't go back once it's time to get separated," he said as he felt every fiber of his being burn in rage. "You don't need to. I'll go back, but not now."

Forte refrained from strangling the boy and sighed heavily to release some of his own anger. "I don't give a damn about that!" he replied heatedly. "I want you to go back to your normal annoying self, because, as of now, you're even more annoying!"

"So that's what I am?" Netto asked calmly, feeling chilled to the bone. "Nothing but a nuisance?"

The black navi paused, one eye staring at the narrowed ones of his companion, and wondered how the hell they had ended up in that situation. He had started with the best of intentions, wanting to try and talk some sense into him, but now Netto had distorted the sense of his words and had taken what he had said as an offense. Before Forte could explain what he had meant, however, Netto leapt down the cliff, landed on the soft sand below with barely an effort and rammed the first hard object he could see.

The impact with the large rock was tremendous, dazing the two and leaving a sizeable imprint on the surface. While Netto's head and left shoulders were the most hurt from the collision, he had done so so that Forte would be hit on the arm that was around his neck and side.

"That won't throw me off!" the black navi growled after shaking his head to get rid of the white spots he was seeing. "Now, will you just stop and listen to me?"

Blinded by emotional pain and anger, Netto started to run towards another large boulder head first, determined to dislodge the navi from his back no matter what. He didn't care if he got physically hurt, all he wanted was to be left alone.

They kept that up for at least half a hour before Netto started to show the first signs of fatigue and pain. He had shed several tears of frustration during the last few minutes, but still didn't stop his harmful action.

Forte, however, saw that the boy was starting to slow down and decided to completely stop him before something got really damaged. He let go of Netto's waist with his legs and used them to trip him. The landing on the sand wasn't kind to their already sore bodies, but it wasn't as painful as the collisions against the several rocks scattered around. Thankfully, after landing face first on the ground, Netto didn't show any signs of wanting to get back up.

The black navi released his hold onto Netto's neck and rolled to the side, looking up at the sky and massaging his sore left arm. "Do you feel any better, now?" he asked after a while. If he focused enough, he could feel a sense of weariness and resignation coming from partner.

"Why do you care?" the boy asked in reply, focusing his attention at the desert past the small rocky formations. The larger one, the same he had been on top of before jumping down, was behind him and he could see it only if he turned his head around. "I thought I was a nuisance to you..."

Forte sat up and leaned against a rock a couple of feet away. He was sore, and he knew he was going to be sore for a while after this. "Perhaps I used the wrong words," he whispered to himself. Still, he was glad that Netto had reacted that strongly. Maybe, now that most of the pent up frustration and anger had been released, he was more prone to face the past.

"Hikari," he called loudly after a while, casting a glance at the unmoving figure laying on the sand. His head was turned away so he couldn't see his face and read his emotions so easily. "If I'm here today, trying to deal with you instead of blowing you up, it's because of your real personality. This... moody you... I hate it."

Finally finding the strength to move, Netto rolled around on his side so that he could look at his friend. He felt tired and spent of his emotions, but at the same time he felt a tranquility that he hadn't felt in days. "Forte..." for a moment he didn't know what to say, then he gave a small smile. "Thanks."

Forte nodded in reply and stood up. "Come on, we should get back before that navi of yours bugs himself for the worry."

"I really don't want to," Netto replied quickly, rolling to lay onto his back again. "I feel fine here."

Seconds passed in silence before the navi walked next to his friend. He crossed his arms and looked down at him with an exasperated expression on his face. "Damn it, kid. Not again!" he bent down and grabbed Netto's left arm, pulling at it. When the boy didn't show any sign of getting back onto his feet, he gave up with a loud growl.

Before he could let go, however, Netto firmly grasped at his hand and held it where it was. Forte looked down at him with a question on his lips, but stopped immediately when he noticed that the boy's eyes were open and unfocused.

"Hikari?" when he received no reply, the navi crouched down and placed his free hand onto Netto's shoulder, slightly shaking him. "Netto?"

Brown eyes refocused and the boy looked at Forte with worry. "We have to go," he said, forcing himself to sit up. It hurt to move, but that didn't stop him from getting back onto his feet, although wobbly. "Now."

After all the collisions he had willingly gone through, his sight was blurred and his senses were not at their working peak. Despite that impairment, however, he could still feel it. He had recognized its presence as soon as he had detected it, and it gave him the same unnerving feeling it had given him the first time he had encountered it.

He released Forte's hand and started to shove him towards the base of the cliff. Without the full usage of their powers, all they could do was to climb the rocky face or find a passage within it to take shelter. There was also the option to try and outrun it like he had done previously, but he wasn't taking that escape route unless extremely necessary.

The navi didn't stop Netto from shoving him around. He had felt the urgency in his voice, but he still looked at the kid with confusion. "What is it?"

"Remember that time in that faux Undernet Desert?" Netto asked, casting a worried glance towards the desert. It was getting close faster than he remembered. Perhaps this one was an evolved form or something. "That thing that hunted us down the whole time?"

At those words, Forte narrowed his eyes at the desert, hoping to get a glimpse of the beast lurking under the sand. So far, nothing could be seen. Not even a tiny buff of flying sand. Yet, he knew that Netto wouldn't lie about something like that and knew that the boy, for some strange reason, could detect the large virus' presence.

Netto growled to himself as he looked left and right for any passage in the rock or at least an easy way to climb up. "And just when things were quiet once again!"

.

* * *

.

**A/N:** Well, here it is. Another chapter of the unexpected success that is Unwilling Partners. A pretty long chapter to make up for the short previous one. Thanks again for sticking with me for so long, people. I appreciate it!

Disclaimers:

Rockman and related stuff © Capcom

Writing, plot ideas and original characters © Az The Dragon.

Please, refrain from stealing my work. I spend a lot of mental energy on this stuff.


	25. Chapter 25

Climbing up vertically for what looked like three hundred meters had physically and mentally exhausted Netto. Sore and in a worse mood than before, the boy was now lying on the ground on his side, glaring at the large half worm half shark as it tried to jump on top of the rocky plateau. So far, however, only its head managed to reach its goal and the thing would always fall back into the soft sand with a low, guttural growl-like sound of anger and frustration.

"It's been at it for about two hours now," Netto muttered to the navi sitting next to him. He had no idea how he knew how much time they had spent there, only that they had been stranded that long. "What do we do?"

Forte had an equally hate filled glare directed at large virus beast, wishing that the thing would just blow up in a million of pieces on its own and leave them in peace. To be able to brighten Netto's mood only to have all his efforts spoiled by something that just wouldn't mind its own business was really maddening. The navi glanced at the laying figure next to him and narrowed his eyes, knowing that neither he nor Netto had any energy left useful to outrun the beast for long distances.

"If we could fly, escaping would be easy," Netto continued after a while when his friend didn't answer. Perhaps talking about the obvious he could come up with an idea. "Even if we were slow, we could still stay out of its jumps..."

At that moment, the large head slammed against the rocky cliff with a deafening crash, shaking the entire structure and causing a few cracks on the raised ground. After that, the beast lunged again and again, and at each impact, the rock fractured more and became unstable. Large portions of plateau broke off and fell onto the sands below, raising immense yellow clouds so dense that it was hard to see past them.

If Netto had been in a bad mood before, now he was just plainly angry and stressed. No more laying down to rest, he was now dividing his attention between not falling into one of the many cracks under his feet and keeping an eye on the gigantic finned worm's movements. The beast, tired of waiting and unable to jump on top of the hard ground, had decided that it was best if its targets were brought down to were it was easier to catch them.

Forte grabbed one of Netto's arms and dragged him away from where he was standing just before the rock broke in half and the other side crumbled down like a castle of cards in the winds. "I believe this is a good time for you to come up with one of your insane plans!" the navi roared to be heard above the booming sounds of tons of rocks smashing together. He wasn't keen on asking for help, but he couldn't think of anything on his own. "And get us out of this situation!"

"Alright, alright..." Netto was trying his hardest to focus both on staying on his feet and thinking about a way to get out of their current situation. "To summarize... we can't fly, we can't fight it and we could barely outrun it for a few miles before it caught up with us..."

The head of the giant worm suddenly shot out of the middle of the breaking plateau with such violence that the the rocks exploded around it, sending everything flying. With no time to think and a failing ground under his feet, Netto leapt forwards and on top of the beast's head, right near the upper lip. From there, he could see the white teeth of the lower jaw glisten through the sand and debris, so sharp and hard that they cut through even the hardest of the boulders whenever the creature closed its mouth.

Forte growled under his breath, but with no other option left and not wanting to let Netto on his own, he followed the boy on top of the worm's head and hung onto one of the many scales with one hand. He looked around for his friend, not paying attention to the fact that the virus was slowly sliding back towards the sand, until he found him not so far from where he was.

Netto, once he had jumped on the beast, hadn't just stopped where he had landed. Now, even if hindered by the flying debris that were raining on him, he was climbing upwards, very close to the edge of the mouth. Realizing that the kid had something in mind, he followed him until they were on what could be roughly described as the nose of the creature. Forte leaned forwards a bit and saw the pearly white needle-like teeth smash to pieces a rather large boulder.

"I hope your brilliant idea will get us off this thing soon!" Forte shouted. It kind of felt like they were in the middle of an apocalypse and his ears were starting to hurt because of the thundering sounds.

When the creature had no more the strength to keep its body up, it slammed downwards with all its weight. The impact, although cushioned by the soft sand, was so strong that what was left standing of the plateau simply crumbled inwards with such a symmetry that it felt as if it had been programmed.

As the beast laid where it had landed to recover from its last attack, Netto had the time to look upwards. For a moment, time seemed to slow and stretch, the falling rocks hung in midair with a trail of brown dust behind them. He found it impressive, majestic and scary at the same time. But he would not let that place become his tomb. He was not ready to feel oblivion claim him once again.

To tell the truth, when he had jumped on top of the beast he had no real plan. It just looked a safer place than anywhere else. Now, however, that idea had turned against him and was close to be the last one he would ever have. Perhaps he was being pessimistic in believing that he would die if he was there when the rocks came down, but the fear and desperation were what made him act. He lifted his fist and slammed if downwards as violently as he could. The hard scale wasn't damaged at all, but the small vibrations produced by the impact were strong enough to attract the beast's attention. The creature let out a long, low wail as it raised itself up once again, the head tracing an arc in the air and rising past the collapsing rocks.

Netto smiled in triumph, knowing that he had manipulated the beast into doing what he wanted. He planted his feet against the scaled surface and watched as the immense virus lifted itself almost vertically. "You wanted one of my insane plans, Forte," he said, his eyes glinting with mischievousness as he readied himself to jump. "And here it is. A giant catapult!"

Forte wasn't sure how he managed to jump at the same time his friend did, nor how the kid's improvised plan had succeeded. All he knew was that a moment after Netto had spoken, they were flying past the crumbling plateau with no sign of slowing down nor starting to descend. Again, the boy had proven to be able to think up a plan that was both successful and creative, and Forte felt strangely... elated to have seen it.

The navi turned his red eyes to glance at the figure next to him and noticed that Netto was smiling, and as he focused at the ever present link in the back of his mind, he could feel a mixture of emotions that he hadn't felt in days. Happiness, determination and a general sense of being alive had finally taken the place of depression, fear and denial. Forte wasn't sure how long the positive emotions would last, perhaps they would fade away as soon as the danger was gone, but now he knew that to keep Netto from having a mental breakdown he had to keep him busy both mentally and physically.

Forte stared at his friend for a few more seconds, then returned his eyes forwards to see where they were sailing. He could feel the pull of gravity starting to take a hold of him again, meaning that they had reached the peak of the curve they were following and were starting to descend. It didn't worry him, though. The beast was still in the middle of the devastation it had done, its cries echoing in the air as it tried to right itself amidst the large blocks of stone. The navi had no idea how long it would take to resume its hunt, but perhaps he and Netto had enough time to run towards the next plateau he could see in the distance.

"Hikari," Forte called as he mentally calculated that they could cover almost half the distance separating them while still airborne. "Do you realize that we can't keep doing this, right?"

Unsurprisingly for the navi, Netto nodded. "Yeah. Eventually something will go wrong," he replied. Still, the boy was far from being defeated or out of ideas and it showed on his face with a grin while his confidence only hardened his determination. "But! I have a plan!"

Forte didn't ask for further explanation. He had no need to. After proving himself several times during their time spent stuck together, he trusted Netto and his creative thinking. All he had to do was to anticipate his next move and make sure the kid didn't kill himself in the process. Which was not easy because most of the times the boy had the bad habit to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

They traveled in silence for several more seconds until gravity made them take a dive at the ground. The landing on the sand was easy and produced only a small cloud of dust that settled immediately afterward. But the two did not linger and started running as fast as they could towards the nearest large rock formation in front of them. The plateau was not too distant, but by the time they reached it Netto was, for lack of a better term, winded. Yet, the kid was already sneaking around, using dark spots, large jutting stones and narrow fissures to his advantage. Forte was following him using a slightly different path, knowing that the other was hunting for something, but not understanding what.

While the two were making their way through the complex maze of fissures and arching tunnels, the giant worm had returned to the sand. Netto knew this and he could feel the creature's presence moving in circles around their newest hiding spot. It would start attacking soon, though, but unlike before, now he had a plan in mind.

"When I was watching the Undernet, before you found me," the boy whispered as he crouched down to hide behind a large boulder, only peeking past it for a brief moment before retracting with a smile. "I saw a group of those dragon viruses flying here."

Forte took a quick glance at the viruses before staring at Netto right into the eyes, wanting to make sure that the boy was sure of what he wanted to do. "Alright, I admit it might work," he whispered after a while, understanding that with the viruses' ability to fly it would be easy to escape. "But how do you plan to tame one?"

There was an almost imperceptible tremor of the ground and Netto instantly placed a hand onto it. Truth to be told, he had never thought of how to tame the virus. Normally, people would reprogram one to do some specific tasks like battle training, but his knowledge on the subject was far too limited to be of some use.

"We have no time to find an easy way to do it," Netto replied, closing his eyes and feeling the distinct presence of the immense cyber beast lurking just outside their temporary shelter. It was moving slowly in circles around them, like a shark with a helpless prey before attacking, and the boy knew it wouldn't be long before the Sand Worm started to jump and ram at the rock to demolish it. "So we'll have to grab one and hope it'll listen to us."

There was a moment in which Forte felt like his frame had been turned into ice. It was a weird feeling and all the tension from imagining Netto wrestling with a virus while hundreds of feet from the ground was making his soreness return with a vengeance.

The navi stared for a few more seconds, then closed his eyes and let his body relax. It was either the flight with a wild virus or another face to face with the lurking beast that was hunting them. If he concentrated enough, he could feel the increasing vibrations it emitted every time it scraped against the rock. "When we're out of this, you'll have to explain a lot of things to me, Hikari."

"If we have the time," Netto replied as he prepared to jump at the closest virus to him. The group, a mixture of the three known sub-species, was pretty calm and quiet for being one of the most savage race of Undernet virus. "And if I can answer your questions, Forte. There are things... that I don't know how to explain myself."

A red Lavagon trudged closer to their hiding spot without suspecting the ambush, it lowered its head and moved aside a few rocks in search of something, as if it was a normal animal looking for food. Netto would have observed it more if he had the time, so he pushed his curiosity to the back of his mind and jumped at the dragon. Swift and silent as a shadow, the boy was instantly on top of the virus' neck, clinging tightly as the digital creature started to trash around wildly to get the attacker off of its back. A couple of seconds later, Forte had followed suit and was holding one of the wings to not fall off.

The ruckus provoked by the struggling trio alarmed the rest of the pack. Loud roars filled the air, fireballs, ice-shards and thunderbolts flew in every direction as the dragons attacked everything and everyone in a mad rush. Their blind panic, however, prevented them from focusing on the real attackers and all that was hit were the rock walls surrounding them. While the fire and ice elements caused little damage, the bolts of crackling electricity created deep zig-zagging fractures on the rock, chipping it away. When the first pieces of sharp splinters started to rain onto the crazed viruses, one of them had enough sanity left to open its wings and fly away into the sky, soon followed by the rest of the group.

Netto glanced up at the retreating figures for a brief moment, attracted by the ruckus of beating wings, then had to focus once again on clinging onto the virus' neck with both arms and legs. The Lavagon suddenly stood straight up, stretching its wings out and coiling its tail under its body. Understanding that the virus was ready to fly away too, the boy climbed towards the head and covered the dragon's eyes with his hands. Suddenly blinded, the virus lurched forwards with a cry of fear and outrage as the added weight on its neck made it lose its balance and fall forwards in a heap. The tumble wasn't enough to dislodge Netto from where he was, but it was successful in throwing Forte on the ground.

The navi shook his head and looked around, slightly disoriented by the sudden fall, then rolled away from being stabbed by a flailing, sharp wing. There was a loud ripping sound and when he stood up, he noticed that his cloak was sporting a long vertical rip on the right side. Without his powers, Forte took a few steps back and observed the struggle, trying to find an opening that would permit him to to tackle the virus again without getting hurt in the process. When the Lavagon started to swing its head left and right in an attempt to free itself from the headlock Netto had on it, he quickly made his way behind it and leaped past the wriggling tail, successfully landing on its back.

Feeling another weight onto its body, the virus became even more desperate and increased its efforts, eventually managing to make Netto lose his hold onto the neck. The boy was lurched forwards in a low arch, hands flailing desperately until the left one grabbed at the single horn at the end of the elongated head. Netto lurched to a halt with a grunt, feeling as if his left arm was being torn off from his shoulder. Hurt but not defeated, the boy grabbed the virus's muzzle with his other hand and hung there with his remaining strength.

Momentarily pausing to regain some of its vigor back, the virus gave enough time for Forte to move forwards and sit onto the neck, grab at it and look at Netto in the eyes. "Hikari," he grunted, feeling the Lavagon's frame tense under his hands. "We're not making any progress here! Let's just delete it and find another way out!"

Netto had to agree with Forte. The virus was not giving in and he could feel his own strength fading with each passing second. Yet, there was the weird feeling that there was a way for him to make the Lavagon listen. "I..." he started, hoisting himself up so that he could look at the dragon in the eyes. "Remember when I said that there were things I couldn't explain?"

Forte watched Netto's eyes harden in determination with a raised eyebrow. "Let me guess," he said after a while, mentally resigning himself to follow through whatever insanity his friend was going to do. "This is one of those things."

Netto gave a single nod before he became still, too focused into trying to silently communicate with the virus to notice anything else that was going on around him. For a moment it looked like the boy was succeeding in his intent, but then the Lavagon shook its head again in a renewed attempt to get free, causing Forte to almost lose his hold onto its neck.

Being swung around like a flag, Netto lost grip on the muzzle and had to hold onto the virus only with his left hand. His shoulder protested in agony at the abuse it was going through and made the boy scream both in anger and pain.

"Enough!" Netto's angry command stilled the virus long enough for him to have a slight respite. The pain didn't fade completely, but it dulled enough for him to be able to hoist himself up again towards the Lavagon's head to look at it in the eyes once again, sure that it was the right way to achieve his goal to tame the beast. In doing so, however, his right hand grabbed at the virus's forehead and that was then when things took a turn for the weird.

A new jolt of pain traveled through his right hand, up his arm and then stabbed him right in the brain. It was so sudden and sharp that Netto was knocked unconscious, falling to the ground in a heap in front of the clawed feet of the dragon virus. Forte raised a hand, ready to delete the Lavagon to spare his friend from being trampled, but stopped before starting the downwards motion that would bring his hand to smash the neck he was still holding onto. It wasn't because he was feeling merciful, nor because he was doubting his own ability to delete a simple, mindless virus with the sole use of brutal strength. What really halted him was that the Lavagon had actually calmed down and was now looking at the unconscious figure at its feet, waiting.

The navi stared at the virus, then moved his gaze onto Netto, then back at the Lavagon, trying to understand what had happened, but knowing that, in a way or in another, the boy had managed to accomplish what he had planned. He shook his head as he dismounted from the dragon's back, feeling his lips pull into a faint smile. "Impossible doesn't exist for you, right Hikari Netto?" It was a question mostly directed at himself than to the unmoving figure. "Especially if they tell you so."

He crouched down and placed a hand onto his friend's shoulder, shaking him and successfully waking him up from his forced nap. The kid was still dazed and disoriented, but he was recovering quickly and within seconds he was already sitting, looking up at the still waiting Lavagon in front of him with confusion, amazement and a heavy streak of victory shining in his eyes. "See? It worked!"

Forte crossed his arms and glared at his friend with all the anger he could muster in that precise moment, which wasn't much. "And you got knocked out in the process," he replied, trying to remain calm. "What if the virus wasn't tamed? You would have ended up being torn by its feet..."

Brown eyes looked up at the navi and Netto smiled widely. "It didn't happen, did it?" he asked, laughing tiredly. "I'm still in one piece and recovering from whatever it was that knocked me out. Stop worrying, Forte."

There was a furious, frustrated and outraged glare directed at him for several long seconds before Forte gave a deep sigh and crouched down to move the boy's left arm around his neck, slowly hoisting him up. Netto was still wobbly on his legs and let the navi drag him away from the Lavagon to sit on a rock. "Next time you think of doing something like that, I will punch you."

Netto remained silent for a moment, then started laughing loudly. Before Forte could take that as an offense, however, the boy waved a hand into the air to call for attention and calmed down a bit. "Before you try to strangle me to death for laughing, know that I wasn't laughing at you or your worry about me."

Choosing to ignore the muted "I wasn't worried" coming from the navi standing next to him, Netto leaned forwards, his elbows onto his knees and head bowed. "What I find funny, Forte, is how much roles have reversed. I... I..." he took a pause and looked up at the black sky for a couple of seconds before closing his eyes. "Unlike many people out there, I know that something is wrong with me, Forte. I know that I should deal with it and go on with life, but..."

Forte's frustration and anger faded away as he instantly recognized what Netto was talking about. It had been days, now, since recovering that memory of dying, but the kid was unable to forget it, nor find a way to deal with it or let his friends and family help him out of it. The fact that the kid was confiding in him was something that made him feel... special, but in a different way than just being an all powerful, highly customized and independent navi.

"I think you can understand, Forte," Netto resumed, bringing his friend out of his train of thoughts. He was kicking at the dirt with one foot now, nervous and unsure of the words he should use. "That need to feel alive... to feel energy run through your body, to brush with death again and then laugh at its face when it couldn't take you again..."

Then the moment of insight of the troubled teen ended and Netto stood up, dismissing his own words in regard of going to pet the Lavagon on the neck. He still had no idea how he had tamed it, only that he remembered grabbing its forehead with his right hand. "Can you even understand me..?" he asked in a mutter as he grabbed the head with his hands and brought it to his own eye level.

The virus complied, waiting silently for any kind of command it would receive from its owner, and the two stared at each other for long moments before a strong vibration of the ground and a loud crash of rocks reminded Netto that they hadn't much time left before the giant Sand Worm would break through the immense stone formation and attack them again. The boy looked up at the top of the plateau, watching as small rocks and dust fell down with each shake with a calm expression on his face. He blinked once, then twice and shook his head, trying to clear it from distracting thoughts.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said softly as he sat at the base of the Lavagon's neck, letting a very thin smile appear on his lips. "I'm tired of this place."

Another vibration accompanied by a loud bang made Forte uncross his arms and walk to the virus's side. He took a moment to observe the Lavagon's back, unsure of how he was supposed to sit on that slightly saucer-shaped body nor if the dragon could actually carry both of them. "I presume you know how to... guide it?"

Seemingly offended by the navi's tone of voice and perplexed expression, because Forte refused to believe the virus could understand his words, the Lavagon stood straight up and spread its wings, roaring at the sky. Netto looked between the dragon and the navi, then scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "I have no idea, but I think it..." there he paused as he gazed at the white eye looking back at him, briefly pausing as he tried to figure out something. "I think _she _knows where to go..."

The moment of awkwardness lasted for about a couple of seconds before Forte closed his eyes and tried to ignore a lot of things and questions. "You better start explaining, Hikari," he said as he jumped on top of the dragon's back and tried to not fall off as the virus started beating her wings. "Starting from how you managed to tame it."

"'Her', Forte," Netto corrected, holding onto the neck as the Lavagon finally took to the sky quickly. "The Lavagon is a she. Don't ask me how I know. I just... do. I looked at her head and I suddenly knew her gender."

Again, Forte chose to ignore the fact that viruses suddenly had genders. "Fine," he muttered more to himself than to the boy sitting in front of him. "But you still haven't told me how you did it. How did you tame this Lavagon?"

By now, the navi was really curious. If there was a way to tame viruses, then their life in the network could be slightly easier if they had an army of beasts at their beck and call. He wasn't one to rely on external help, but having a swarm of viruses trample, throttle and generally make a mess of their enemies was a sight that he would love to see while he sat back and relaxed.

With those thoughts freely running through his mind without him realizing it, he and Netto were carried up high into the black sky of the Undernet, leaving behind a slowly crumbling plateau and an angry giant worm. They ascended so much that when the dragon finally leveled her flight, their pursuer was nothing but a small, dark dot following them through an expanse of gold dotted with brown blotches.

"I don't know how I did it," Netto spoke softly, almost as if he was afraid to disturb the silence up there. It had taken him long minutes to finally put an order to his own thoughts and memories of the event. "It all happened when I touched her forehead with my right hand."

The boy lifted his right hand and stared at it, trying to understand the secret that had tamed the virus. So far, however, his eyes could catch nothing but the pure white color of the digital material coating it. Yet, he knew that there was something there. Something that was not present in his other hand. He might be unable to see whatever it was, but he felt something. A presence that he could feel only if he focused enough and that would fade away as soon as he became distracted with something else.

"It was painful," he resumed, shaking his hand to see if the movement would bring out something. "Hit me in the brain so badly that I still feel a slight headache from it. When I woke up, my hand was itchy, but it faded quickly and now it's back to normal..."

Forte didn't speak for a while after Netto finished his tale, waiting, hoping that the boy would continue or remember something else. When that didn't happen, however, he let out a very faint growl that only he could hear. He wasn't angry at Netto for being unable to understand what was happening to him. He was displeased at the fact that there were more and more questions to answer with each step they took. "So," he said after a while, voice calm despite his hidden frustration. "It's another of those things you can't explain?"

After a single nod of his head, Netto became silent once again. It was really weird to be sure to know the answer to a lot of things but be unable to reach them or understand why he had no immediate access to that knowledge. "It's like being an amnesiac..." he said after a while, perhaps a bit disheartened. "I've heard that sometimes an amnesiac knows something, but they can't remember why they know it..."

Forte closed his eyes and let the silence calm his racing thoughts. He would never find an answer if he was agitated, frustrated or angry. Things like that took a lot of patience, and despite the popular belief that he had none, he was a really patient navi that could bid his time and strike at the most profitable moment. Sooner or later, Netto would be able to provide them with the right information.

They remained in silence like there for what felt like hours, with Forte meditating with closed eyes and Netto looking around at the slowly mutating landscape. The sand had become sparse, present only in small splotches or long, curving paths that reminded the boy of rivers and lakes filled with liquid gold, too small and shallow to let the Sand Worm cross them. Netto felt relieved that they had finally lost the virus as it was one less trouble to deal with.

Flying past the flat zone of earth and sand, the dragon started to weave around a forest of sharp, jutting rocks that emerged from the ground almost vertically. They were of different heights and dimensions, with the smallest being as big and tall as Netto while the largest ones were comparable to most of the highest skyscrapers of Densan City. Amongst these giants that seemed to stab at the sky, large cracks snaked around their feet, so deep and dark that they appeared bottomless.

Netto brought his right hand to his forehead and massaged his temple. Perhaps it was still the shock he received earlier, but there was an increasing pressure at the forefront of his brain. It wasn't painful at all, just uncomfortable and very annoying. It was so distracting that he quickly lost focus on everything but the strange, invading feeling.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." he started to chorus, voice faint as he tried to fight off the assault on his mind. He didn't know if it was just him or there was someone or something out there, somewhere, that was prodding at him with who knows what. The only thing he knew was that the more he concentrated to stay alert and conscious, the more the pressure increased, eventually creating another headache.

Then, as suddenly as it came, the pressure was gone and the boy was able to focus on the world around him once again, noticing that now they had abandoned the open sky and were flying at the bottom of one of the narrow canyons he had previously seen. It was dark and damp down there, with the sounds of rushing water coming from below them that echoed off the natural passage's walls. Said walls were vertical and almost black in color, with little footholds for climbing, as if someone had cut the earth with a sharp scalpel rather than a river digging the canyon with thousands of years of erosion.

The Lavagon banked to the right, flying into a larger path. If the previous one was wide enough to let only a dragon fly in it, this one could house three of them side by side and let them have the space to beat their wings without bumping into each other. Still, the light seemed to be scared of reaching that deep into the earth, preferring to stop a few hundred feet above their heads and leaving them, the river and the bare rock in darkness.

The sudden question of why someone would go that far to design such a land suddenly invaded Netto's mind and the boy found himself rubbing at his temples again. The pressure was back, only this time it was slightly different than before. Still annoying, sure, but it brought the familiar feeling that he had all the answers he needed and that the only thing he had to do was to reach for them. The only problem, however, was that he had no idea what he was looking for or how to get to that information.

And then, before he could even try to make head and tail of his thoughts, the Lavagon finally flew out of the canyon and into a brightly lit valley, landing just a few seconds later on a small shore of the river they had been following the entire time. Forte was the first to jump down from the back of the dragon, disgruntled at how much further they had distanced themselves from their real body. "So..." he started, turning his gaze back onto Netto after a quick survey of their new surroundings.

But Netto wasn't exactly there with his head anymore. Still sitting on the neck of the Lavagon, he was looking around with unfocused eyes, his body so relaxed that if the virus moved he would have fallen to the ground.

The valley wasn't that large, perhaps a couple of miles, with a big river in the middle and a lush forest on both sides that extended until the valley's floor became too steep and rocky to let any tree grow. The incline then transformed into vertical walls that connected to the desert above. From where he was standing, Netto could see some of the tallest of the rocky pillars that they had weaved through before.

Taking away his eyes from that sight, the boy looked first at his left, then at his right. The small shore they had landed on was high enough to let him see above most of the trees growing at the bottom of the valley, and was suddenly reminded of a snake by its continuous curves. It was so long that Netto could not see the end to his left as much as he squeezed his eyes while, in the opposite direction, there was a sharp curve leading to the right. All through its length, streams of various sizes were led into the valley by canyons similar to the one they followed and went to join the large river in the middle after several small waterfalls and ponds.

After finishing his examination of the strange place they had ended up in, Netto blinked, his eyes returning to normal, and jumped off the Lavagon's neck, landing on the soft sand with barely a sound. He walked around a bit, confused and oblivious to the keen stare that Forte was giving him in that precise moment, until he directed himself towards the nearest tree.

The plant was strange, nothing he had ever seen before, with large and elongated leaves that had a really deep, dark green color. The bark, so similar to that of a pine, lacked the characteristic resin of one and was of a really light ash color. The weirdest part, however, were the fruits. They reminded him of a pear, but were at least one foot long, had a brilliant red color and were so shiny that Netto could see his distorted reflection on the surface.

The boy grabbed one of the pear-shaped fruits from a low branch and fiddled with it for a few moments, then turned around to stare at Forte with a mixture of confusion, worry and fear.

"I've been here before..."

.

* * *

.

Almost on the other side of the desert from where Netto and Forte were, two tall navis were observing what remained of an old network that had found itself connected to the mysterious Undernet. At the beginning of the path, the sand covered almost every inch of what had once been a surface covered by shiny tiles until it became sparse and piled up in holes or corners that broken metallic walls formed. Further into the passage, the walls and floor became less damaged until it became some sort of corridor complete with a ceiling and a door at the end.

"So the rumors were true," the white navi said, advancing into the old path. He was amused by how the Undernet seemed to find any possible way to connect itself to the surface networks, as if it had a mind of its own. "SciLabs's old network got linked here..."

Ninja, the ever observant navi that he was, stopped just before the entering the less damaged part of the corridor. Despite looking abandoned and run down, the place still functioned and the security was exceedingly high. Whoever had built the defenses had made sure that who was out stayed out and what was in remained in. Bypassing or cracking the password to access the old network would take a lot of time and effort. It was a good thing that their spy at SciLabs had willingly provided them with the password they needed.

The black navi looked at his surroundings once more, wanting to make sure that no enemy was hiding in what little hiding spots the desert and broken passageway offered, then reached his brother in front of the door. "How are you feeling?"

Sky-gray eyes softened as Paladin started to digit the password on the panel next to the door. Some of the glass-like material covering the display was cracked and some of the numbers were darkened, the program lighting them damaged beyond repair. "I am... fine," he murmured, trying to focus all of his attention to the mission they had been given. "I think..."

It was not easy, however. To think that he was playing a fully active role in his creator's scheme to rule the world and kill the boy that he so admired was taking a heavy toll on his thinking. Every time his mind drifted to when Netto and Forte had been held captive by Dark Mu, he trembled with suppressed fury, making his hands shake slightly.

"You still haven't reported me..." he said after a while, glancing up at the sharp amber eyes of his younger sibling. The two of them were so different, almost the total opposite. While he was passionate, Ninja was cold and calculating, and it showed in their eyes. "Why?"

The black navi remained silent for a moment, pondering at the reason, still not sure himself why he was keeping Paladin's stray thoughts a secret from their creator, then gave a deep sigh and patted his brother's shoulder in a rare display of affection. "Believe it or no, brother," he said, eyes glinting with what could be translated as a soft smile. "I care about you."

And it was true. Ninja, despite his behavior that had granted him the status of an emotionless killer amongst the lower ranked members of their organization, cared about the only navi that could be considered as his family. They weren't related by blood, and even the programmers of their frames were two completely different teams of people, but their 'soul', for lack of better term, had been created by Osamu Michiro alone. Thus, he considered Paladin as his brother, and thus, he had started to care when they got to know each other deeply. Only in a different way than Paladin's.

"But your obligations are towards our creator, not me..." the white navi said, his finger pausing above the key for the last digit of the password. He was torn between the dream of his brother fully siding with him and the reality that it was impossible for them to break free from their loyalty program. It was mentally painful and it showed on his mouth with a light frown of displeasure.

He closed his eyes and went back to when it all began. It had been just another order at first. Very simple, too. All he had to do was watch over the scientific staff working on the Hybrid, to make sure that no one betrayed his creator's wishes. Then things had taken a turn for the unexpected as those sharp eyes looked straight at him for the first time. Paladin clearly remembered how he had been rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but stare back with a growing sense of feeling trapped until the Hybrid finally lost consciousness again.

In the successive days of his warding duty, things didn't improve. The Hybrid was rarely awake, but whenever he was, he was looking right at him with those dark red eyes that expressed a cunning intelligence far superior to the average human. It was both captivating and frightening to be the center of attention of such a mysterious being.

That wasn't what got him to think, however. What made him sway so much in his belief that Dark Mu was always right was the incident that almost took the Hybrid's life. "You weren't there, brother," the white navi continued, taking the hand away from the panel in front of him and looking directly into the amber eyes of his sibling. "He... _they_ were laying on the ground... unmoving. I've seen many dead people, killed many myself, but I've never felt this way."

He looked away, tapping a finger on the side of the panel repeatedly to keep his hands from shaking. Ninja perfectly knew what had happened that day thanks to several reports, but he hadn't been there. He hadn't seen those sharp eyes become empty and distant. So empty that he had felt like they were dragging him into oblivion. He had been deeply shaken for hours on end after that incident, and when he had been called to watch over the comatose Hybrid in the medical room, his thoughts raced wildly without him being able to stop them.

Paladin was not sure what kind of thought process he had followed, but at one point of his watch, he had started to ponder about what life really was. With his creator never bothering to load the more detailed information on 'life', the navi was left with the task to discover it himself, if only to keep those empty eyes randomly appearing in his memories at bay. Thinking about it now, he realized that he could have sent one of those Mr. Programs to fetch from the internet the answer to his question, but at the time he had been so entrapped by his meditation that the world outside the room had completely disappeared save for those occasions that someone walked in or he was called by the Emperor of Dark Mu.

It hadn't been an easy task. His reasoning had ran in endless circles for almost a week and more than once he had given up only to find that he came back to think about life only minutes later with renewed vigor. Still, it wasn't until he saw a doctor controlling the Hybrid's pupil's reaction to light that he found where his answer was.

Once the man had left the room, he had moved next to the bed, his sky-gray eyes looking down at the unconscious Hybrid with fierce determination. He... _they_ were still alive, so the dead, empty eyes had to stop haunting him because they were no more, and to really make sure that he was right, he lifted one of the purple eyelids to look underneath.

Despite being held into a forceful coma by sedatives and whatever other chemicals the doctors were administering him, the hybrid's eye reacted to the dim light of the room by having its pupil shrink in size. The dark red color was wonderfully clear and vivid, a complete opposite of the dead and dull hue it had possessed just after that incident. He had lingered there for a bit longer, watching how the iris moved according to the different levels of light, watching the life lazily drift behind the surface, its powerful energy laying dormant, but ready to explode as soon as the Hybrid willed it.

Energy. That was what life was. Pure, unbridled and unchained _energy _with the sole purpose of continuing to exist through a host. Without each other, both would cease to be.

Every creature had that energy. Humans, animals, even plants and navis. _He_ had it too, making him truly alive and not a thing like his creator had always treated him to be. From there, the resentment towards the man and the admiration towards the Hybrid grew, and was still growing. Especially after being named.

Paladin chuckled and shook his head, bringing his mind out of the reverie and back to his brother that had been waiting patiently for him to say something. He wasn't sure how much time he had spent remembering, maybe only seconds even if it felt like days, so he gave an apologetic smile and placed a hand onto the black navi's shoulder.

"Brother," he said, knowing that his question was going to confuse Ninja for sure. "Do you know what life _really_ is?"

"And what does that have to do with your problem?" Ninja answered with a question of his own, quick and sharp as one of his Kunai. Perhaps too quick because Paladin lost his smile and looked away, suddenly feeling like a deflating balloon.

"I'm not sure," he confessed, releasing his sibling's shoulder and returning his attention to the panel next to the door. The broken display was showing the almost complete password in blinking red letters. "But I know that it was the start of everything."

Paladin gave another smile and pressed the last key on the panel. The blinking red digits turned bright green for a second before the numbers morphed into the word 'access' and the door slid open with a faint hiss, revealing a dark corridor inside. The white navi was the first to enter it, followed closely behind by his brother, both thinking about the weird conversation they just had but none of them trying to bring it up again.

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**A/N:** Alright, it's finally here! Chapter 25 of Unwilling Partners! Some pieces might be oddly written to you, and there might be a lot of errors, but I don't have a beta reader right now. And I really need to get this posted or it won't get posted at all...

So yeah, people are starting to reveal and/or realize some stuff. I really hope you enjoy it despite the... weirdness of it and its errors...


	26. Chapter 26

After his statement of recognizing the valley, Netto had become uncharacteristically silent once again. It hadn't taken long before the kid, lost in his own thoughts, started to wander away, following the stream until it reached the much larger river and then going upstream from there. He was completely unaware of Forte following him from a distance or of the dragon drawing large circles high up into the black sky as she kept an eye on him. It was only when he reached a point past one of the sharper curves of the valley that Netto stopped to stare at what laid ahead.

Perched against the cliff side, the city sloped gently until it dipped in the river with its harbor. All was made of the same stone as the desert, but the many trees and flower plants lining the streets and balconies were creating a beautiful and colorful patchwork.

Netto smiled, the feeling of accomplishment lifting his spirit like nothing had ever done during the past days. He looked at it for a few more moments, then sprinted towards it, ignoring Forte's calls and whatever obstacle appeared in his path.

Nimbly stepping around trees and rocks, jumping over ditches in the terrain and swatting away large leaves, the boy quickly covered the distances that separated him from the city. He stopped only when he reached the first structure, a giant arch of stone decorated by hundreds of sculpted leafy motifs.

As he stared up at the imposing structure, a whisper of a bird's song filled his ears and he found himself trying to replicate the sound. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he never noticed Forte walking up to him, fairly peeved to have been left behind.

"You going to stand there gawking or are you going to finally explain to me what's gotten into that head of yours?"

Netto snapped out of his reverie and turned around to look at his friend, an embarrassed expression well visible on his face. "Sorry," he paused and then frowned. "Wait, you were following me? I thought you were still where we landed..."

Forte had his arms crossed and his left eye was twitching occasionally. "And leave you to your own devices?" he asked, repressing an insane amount of frustration. "I know you too well, Hikari. If I leave you alone for five seconds, you get in trouble."

Slumping his shoulders in defeat and pouting, Netto turned around and regarded the city once again. "Fine, fine... I got it," he muttered. "Anyway, welcome to a city which I know the name of, but I can't pronounce it at all..."

Netto rubbed his eyes at the absurdity of the situation, then motioned for Forte to follow him through the city. He didn't speak as he walked along what obviously was the main road, preferring to observe the empty buildings and acknowledge how everything seemed to evoke a distant memory that he never knew was there until that moment. He didn't fight the feeling of familiarity, nor did he try to ignore the whispers of the singing birds. Instead, he followed them to a large, circular plaza right in the middle of the city. Netto looked left and right, then his eyes rested upon the big statue in the center.

It was a bird unlike any other Netto had seen before. Painstakingly crafted to the smallest of details, the creature was standing on its clawed feet and had its wings spread wide open to create a sense of wonder and reverential intimidation. Its body was entirely covered by small scales made of a crimson stone, very similar to a ruby, that became elongated on the wings. Something that was repeated on the reptilian tail. The single horn on the bird's forehead and the beak looked like they could cut through steel, but they paled in comparison to the eyes.

White with no pupils and surrounded by a black outline that made them stand out, they seemed to stare at Netto with an intense gaze. The boy knew that it was absurd to feel observed by a giant stone statue and he tried to ignore it, but as he kept gazing in the eyes of the bird, he could just not ignore it. The whispering singing grew in tone, becoming so loud that Netto's ears started to ring and he could focus on nothing but the mantra. And before he even realized it, he was being showed against a wall. His back collided with the stone and the sharp pain woke him up to a very pissed Forte.

The navi was holding him by the shoulders, shaking him repeatedly and saying things that Netto could hear but not understand. It took the boy a few seconds before the words started to make sense and a bit longer to connect his brain with the rest of his body.

"What happened?" he asked as soon as Forte had stopped his angry tirade. His mouth felt dry and his body felt like it wasn't exactly there, as if he was in a dream. Perhaps it was a worsening effect of the lag they were experiencing. He looked past the navi's shoulder and noticed that now they were on the opposite side of the plaza, with the bird statue giving them its back. "How did I get here?"

Forte released the boy and crossed his arms. However, he did not move from where he was standing. "That's what I'd like to know," he said. "One moment you were staring at the statue, the next you were walking around in a trance, muttering 'follow, follow, follow' to yourself."

Netto didn't reply, still too confused to give a satisfying explanation for his weird behavior. He looked around, his eyes focusing and unfocusing repeatedly as he tried to locate whatever he had been following.

There was nothing out of the ordinary, though. Everything appeared as he felt it should be, no navis or Mr. Programs were walking around and no glistening of fragmented data. Even the whispering of bird songs was gone, leaving the air empty and making the city appear 'not right' in his eyes.

But then his gaze rested on large double doors a couple of buildings to his right. Instantly, he knew that whatever was behind them was something important. "Have I been manipulated, Forte?" he asked, slowly making his way to the closed entrance.

Not trusting Netto's current state of mind, Forte followed closely and watched as the kid stopped in front of the doors. They were made of some sort of wood, probably the same of the trees in the valley, and he wondered who would go as far as to replicate real world matter in a place within the network where no one would see it.

"All I've been doing these past months..." Netto continued. His eyes then rested on a particular on the wood, something that he had thought that he would never seen again and that brought back memories. "Maybe even before that... I wonder if it's all a coincidence..."

It was barely visible, more like a faint engraving than a true sculpting, but the symbol taking up the entirety of the double doors was unmistakable in Netto's eyes.

The Crest of Duo.

Once he had believed that it was nothing but something used to keep track of his actions. To keep him apart from the rest of the world and mark him as one of the few people that were willing to take on the alien navi's challenge. Now, however, it was more than that. Perhaps not even Duo himself knew the true meaning of his Crest.

Netto fell to his knees, laughing to himself as he looked down at his hands. As the realization that everything was connected, memories started to return. From the time of the incident that had fused him and Forte together, to the month spent as Dark Mu's prisoner until his escape. It was during that frenetic run to gain freedom, when they were still mentally merged, that they had stumbled upon a chamber located right under the ancient city of Mu. As large as an entire house, as tall as a skyscraper and with thousands of supports to hold it up along its length, the Murian Central Server had been an imposing sight.

"We were uninterested in it," Netto whispered to himself, not caring if Forte remembered the same things he was remembering or if he understood what he was saying. "But Duo's Crest reacted with the server, activating it, forcing a broken knowledge in my head... and now I have these... 'memories' that are not mine... That's why this place is familiar even if I was never here before..."

Forte crouched in front of the boy and stared at the rapidly shifting expressions he was showing. One moment he was amused, the next he was sad, angry, scared or happy. "Hikari," he said, grabbing Netto by the shoulders and shaking him. "Keep it together."

But his warning fell on deaf ears as Netto was too far gone to register anything that was happening around him. He kept muttering to himself, occasionally laughing or screaming loudly at how everything loved to make his life a living hell.

"Dad's gonna flip when I tell him this," Netto chuckled humorlessly. "That the ancient civilization of Mu is nothing more than alien tech and that Duo hails from the same planet? Oh, the face he's going to make! The fun thing is that when Duo gave me his Crest, he never thought he would give me full access to Murian technology and its knowledge!"

Standing up and walking around Forte, Netto pushed the double doors open to reveal a dimly lit corridor. It was bare of any particular save for a thin line of azure light in the middle of the floor. "When their planet blew up thanks to Duo, they decided to recreate... a copy," he explained as he followed the path. He laughed again, feeling that the knowledge he had was overwhelming him and not caring if he was starting to sound like a lunatic. "The place everyone calls Undernet? It's part of it. A... side server of sort? It was the first to be activated, but for some reason, they never got to complete it. And guess what? There are more servers around the planet! And the viruses? Most of them are nothing but the recreations of animals that lived on the Murians' home planet!"

The navi followed, observing how Netto started to ramble with a mix of excitement and exhaustion. He watched how he laughed and swayed left and right every time he spoke. There were time where the boy paused in his walk and brought his hands to his head, shaking on the spot so badly that it was a wonder that he could still stand. "Is that the reason you were able to control the virus?" he hated how things were developing. "Or why you can do things you can't explain?"

Netto turned around and pointed at the navi with a large smile on his face. "Bingo!" he hollered so loudly that his voice echoed in the corridor for several seconds. "The knowledge has always been there, but I just couldn't reach it!"

Forte's eyes narrowed. Whatever had given Netto all that knowledge knew what would happen if he gained access to it all together. It would have worked fairly well if the boy hadn't suddenly remembered and connected all the dots together, creating a huge mess in his already unstable mind, pushing him to near breaking point.

"Hikari," he spoke, maintaining a calm that he was not feeling. If he became angry or frustrated, Netto would only become more agitated than he already was. "Tell me something. That virus you tamed... do you know why it took us here?"

Netto frowned, humming gently to himself. "I..." he paused, uncertain, as he realized that it was really hard to think with all that weird information floating uncontrollably through his mind. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and listened to the singing birds that had just returned. "She brought me here to finish the job..."

The navi refrained from shaking the boy and demanding further explanation. Instead, he watched as Netto suddenly calmed, his body relaxing visibly, and started to swing gently left and right to a tune that only he could hear. After a while, the boy gave a tiny smile and resumed walking to a destination that only he could be led to.

They went on in silence for a while, with Netto humming to himself and Forte following silently once he had decided that the best way to deal with the situation was for the boy to complete whatever task he had been given. Perhaps once he was done, he would be back to normal and they could just forget this had ever happened. The navi would not let his guard down, though. As soon as he saw any hint of danger, he would make sure to drag Netto away and tie him down somewhere if necessary.

"Oh, we're here," Netto whispered, looking ahead with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

The room in front of them was circular and bare, with a raised one foot tall platform in the center that supported the most amazing thing Netto had ever seen. His smile grew a bit as he started to walk around the platform, observing what could be described as a column of very soft yellow light containing particles of data and strands of code that slowly floated upwards and through a black hole in the ceiling.

_We have waited thousands of years for this moment..._

The singing birds were back, louder than before and with a strange echoing to them, but this time they weren't hurting his head. As Netto stepped on the platform and in front of the column, there was no doubt in his eyes. He wasn't even questioning why he could understand those voices better than before, or why he was doing what he was doing.

_Our program was supposed to be activated long ago, to restore the lives of thousands, even if in a world within a world..._

Forte looked around, his eyes scanning every part of the room in search of something. As soon as he had stepped inside, the feeling of being observed became so overwhelming that it took a lot of self-control to not blast everything to smithereens. If he focused enough, he could even hear a very faint whispering.

_We have been watching you since the time you received the Crest from Duo,_ the voices continued. _We saw your plight, we saw you suffer, we saw you hopeful. You are determined to stop he who is using our technology to bring harm to your world..._

"You know what he has in mind?" Netto asked, looking at the lazily floating codes. He was not sure if the voices were coming from there or they were just inside his head, but staring at something felt much better than trying to find a disembodied voice.

_The man that call himself The Emperor had originally planned to use our technology to destroy your networks and everything to it connected,_ the whispers answered calmly. _And rule with the strength granted to him by Cross Fusion outside of a Dimensional Area._

Netto felt a cold shiver run down his back. "If that happens, then no one would be able to fight them," he murmured. He was angry at the idea of the madman causing so much trouble for something that several before him tried to achieve. At the same time, however, he felt really calm as everything was explained to him. "Not without the technology behind the Dimensional Area to support Cross Fusion..."

_His original plan was wrecked in a single instant by your arrival. No one expected you to accidentally take his place, and no one expected Forte to use your mind to escape deletion..._ the voices sounded somewhat amused by their own retelling of the story. _The Emperor is a man of precision. He had devised his plan for too long to have a little boy ruin it. He wanted this mistake fixed._

"And that's why we were taken to Dark Mu's main base somewhere in Ameroppa," Netto continued. He shifted his eyes onto Forte and felt glad that the navi had survived. Despite their initial difficulties, now they were good friends.

_Your enemy has misused our technology for years with us being unable to stop him or call for help. It changed when he brought you very close to the Central Server. We are regretful that we could not free you sooner. Much pain could have been averted..._

Biting his lip to stop himself from replying in anger, Netto turned away from both Forte and the pillar of streaming data. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his shaking body and spent a few seconds in silence to collect his own thoughts. "You have been manipulating us... used me..."

_That is incorrect,_ the whispering of the birds answered quickly, a hint of worry and fear marring it. _What we did was show you a path. To follow it was your decision alone. When you entered this city, we merely called you. You could have turned around and walked back home, but you did not. Why?_

Netto sat down on the steps of the platform and stared ahead at the dark wall in front of him. He could hear Forte walking around to stand near him. It was his own way of reassuring him and the knowledge that he was not alone while trying to sort the mess he had found himself in gave him strength.

"Somehow, it didn't feel right," he murmured more to himself than to those that were listening to him. His eyes then focused onto the navi barely visible in the darkness. "When the Central Sever gave me all this knowledge... I didn't understand at all. I couldn't even remember until now. I _still_ can't understand an inch of it. But when you called... I knew I had to come..."

The boy huddled on himself, hiding his face between his knees and folded arms. He felt like the entire world had collapsed on top of him, crushing him with the weight of an absurd situation that not even the smartest of minds could make heads or tails of it. It was like being the focal point of an interplanetary storm that was ready to blow up at any given moment.

It was both maddening and sickening to know that.

"Hikari," Forte's voice echoed loudly into the dimly lit room, attracting the boy's attention to him. "What are you going to do?"

"Thousands of years is a long time," Netto replied sadly after a moment. He felt really tired and he was slowly getting a headache out of trying to understand what was happening to him. "I could walk away, forget everything that has happened here, maybe hide in some remote place and wait until someone else solve the latest crisis... but I'd only be kidding myself..."

He stood up and turned around to face the streaming data, watching it in fascination. He was not exactly sure what it was or how it worked, but he had the suspicion that it was some sort of core database needed to complete the start-up of the desert server. Maybe initialize the others too, like a chain reaction of some sort...

Netto raised his right hand and placed it into the column of light. The feeling of being connected and in control of something immense was immediate and he could not help an amused chuckle. A lot of people would do anything to be in his place. However, he was sure they would not like it when everything disappeared into a blinding light.

"_To awaken an entire world within yours without the consensus of others..."_ the voice was back. The difference was that, unlike before, now it was only one bird speaking. It sounded closer and without the annoying echo. "_We are in your debt, Hikari Netto."_

Upon hearing his name, Netto opened his eyes and looked at the blurred outline of someone standing in front of him. It reminded him of the stone statue he had seen in the plaza, only slender and walking upright like a human. "You're a Murian..."

"_One of two races,"_ it sang. Without the echo, the melody was truly beautiful and Netto felt like he could listen to the other talk all day and never get tired of it. "_But that is not important now. We have been spying on your enemy since he walked into Mu, making it his base, and we recently discovered that he has gained hold of something that should not be reawakened. The beast that you humans created years ago, a digital creature called Alpha, must not be set free on the world."_

Netto's eyes grew heavy and he fought against the pull that was dragging him away. "Wait... what's your name?" he asked. He started to feel his body fade, compress and be sucked through a very small hole. "Who's Alpha? How can I stop them? What's going to happen now?"

The bird tilted the elegant head, making the red scales of its long neck shine. _"You might call me Isarinsi, Administrator of the Murian Desert,"_ one long arm was lifted and long scales on it shifted, partially showing that it was also a wing. _"As for what Alpha is, your father knows."_

A clawed finger touched his forehead right between his eyes and Netto had troubles focusing on it. Then he was suddenly shoved backwards, into the pull that dragged him away from that bright void. Before disappearing completely, however, he cast one last glance at the Murian.

"_Whatever you do, I am confident it will be the right thing,"_ Isarinsi said with a fading voice. The brightness was increasing, shrouding the figure until it was nothing but a barely visible shade in a sea of blinding white. _"Is it not what you always did to stop those who want to harm the innocents?"_

There was a short pause, then the bird sung in a way that Netto interpreted it as chuckling. Part of him was angry at being shoved away before all his questions were answered while the other was glad to get out of that place. No matter if he was going to land into something worse. At least it wasn't going to be as confusing as that meeting that he had not seen coming.

"_Know this, young one,"_ the voice now was really faint. Barely audible. _"When the time comes, we shall rise to fight those who used our technology to do harm. You are not alone."_

That was the last thing the Murian had said before Netto woke up with a start, gasping and coughing loudly. There was a ruckus around him, but he ignored it in favor of fighting the several cables tangled around his limbs and body. Hands grabbed him, pinning him down, and someone was shouting as he tried to fight for freedom.

Then the confusion was lifted off his mind and Netto focused his gaze on the face of someone that he had tried to unconsciously avoid.

"Dad..."

Stress, emotional disorder, memories that he would rather forget and the realization that something really ugly was going to happen finally made him crack. Tears fell from distressed eyes and Netto flung his arms around his father's neck, shaking.

"I'm sorry!"

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**A/N:** Confused? Having a "WTF?!" reaction? Good. I was planning for that since involving Mu into the story. Yay for insane plot twists!

Anyway, really sorry for the extremely long wait. Been having one nasty writer's block. The kind where you forget how to write at all.


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